"The book draws on literary, theatrical, cinematic and photographic texts, including the work of such figures as Ramon Mesonero Romanos, Benito Perez Galdos, Pio Baroja, Ramon Gomez de la Serna, Ramon Valle-Inclan and Maruja Mallo. In addition, the author examines the development of new urban-based art forms and entertainments such as the zarzuela, music halls and cinema, and considers their interaction with more traditional cultural identities and activities. In arguing that traditional aspects of culture were incorporated into the everyday life of urban modernity, Parsons shows how the boundaries between 'high' and 'low' culture became increasingly blurred as a new identity influenced by modern consumerism emerged. She investigates the interaction of the geographical landscape of the city with its expression in both the popular imagination and in aesthetic representations, detailing and interrogating the new freedoms, desires and perspectives of the Madrid modernista."--Jacket.