María Luz Morales and the collection «The masterpieces within reach of children» of the Araluce Editorial before the Franco’s censorship

Abstract

In the early twentieth century the publisher Araluce Editorial launched the series «Masterpieces for children», offering a major selection of great classics adapted for children and young adult readers. Although the series predated the Franco regime, the publishers could not avoid the obligatory censorship imposed by the regime during the 1940s and ’50s, and had no choice but to submit to the censor if they wished to continue publishing the collection of small volumes. This article analyses the works which MLM adapted for the Colección Araluce as well as the actions of the censors with regard not only to the contents of the works in question but also to the political past of their adapter.