"Don Alvaro, or The Force of Fate by Angel de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas (1791-1865), premiered in 1835 in Madrid and changed the Spanish state forever after. It was the benchmark Romantic play of early nineteenth-century Spain. The play tells of the torrid love of the mysterious Don Alvaro and the lovely Dona Leonor, and how fate intervenes to bring about the extermination of Leonor's family at the hands of the man who loves her to distraction. In this English edition, Robert Fedorchek presents a readable translation faithful to the tone and spirit of the original. Joyce Tolliver enhances the book with a rich introduction highlighting the work's lasting significance."--Jacket.