Madrid 1900 assesses the cultural history of Madrid and its relation to the cultural history of Spain through examining the literature written in and on Madrid at the turn of the nineteenth century. The center for Spanish national identity, turn-of-the-century Madrid offered a haven for young writers to try out their ideas and launch their careers.

Ugarte traces the history of this writerly consciousness in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, combining historical, biographical, and literary sources.

The major theoretical underpinnings of the study center on a wedding of historical and biographical information to textual analyses. Ugarte draws on ideas and models from a variety of theorists ranging from Marxists and New Historicists to theorists of narratology.

Of particular timeliness as we approach a new century, Madrid 1900 gives special consideration to the cultural transition from an old century to a new one and how the re-creation of a city - any city - contributes to the formation of consciousness.