The Episodios Nacionales (National Episodes) are a collection of forty-six historical novels written by Benito Pérez Galdós between 1872 and 1912. They are divided into five series and they deal with Spanish history from roughly 1805 to 1880. They are fictional accounts which add characters invented by the author within historical events. First series With the exception of Gerona, all the episodes follow the adventures of the boy Gabriel de Araceli, beginning in French-dominated Spain through the war of Independence, from the battle of Trafalgar to the defeat of the French armies (1805–1814). There are ten books in this series: Trafalgar La Corte de Carlos IV [The Court of Charles IV] El 19 de marzo y el 2 de mayo [The 19th of March and the 2nd of May] Bailén Napoleón en Chamartín [Napoleon at Chamartin] Zaragoza Gerona Cádiz Juan Martín el Empecinado La Batalla de los Arapiles [The Battle of Salamanca] Second series Written between 1875 and 1879, it is a series of ten books. Its main character, who is not always the protagonist, is the liberal crusader Salvador Monsalud. At first a guard of King José I, he helps the king escape Spain with the crown jewels, which Jose would sell to pay for his new life in America. Remaining in Spain, Salvador is estranged from power during the six years of absolutist monarchy of Fernando VII (1814–1820), lauded during the Liberal Triennium (1820–1823) and persecuted during the Ominous Decade (1823–1833). His perpetual dissatisfaction guides us through the convulsions of Spain under Fernando, where future conflicts could be seen to have their beginnings. The titles of the Episodes are: El equipaje del rey José (The Baggage of King Jose) Memorias de un cortesano de 1815 (Memoires of a Courtesan of 1815) La segunda casaca (The Second Turncoat) El Grande Oriente (The Grande Oriente) El 7 de julio (The 7th of July) Los Cien Mil Hijos de San Luis (The 100,000 sons of San Luis) El terror de 1824 (The Terror of 1824) Un voluntario realista (A Royalist Volunteer) Los Apostólicos (The Apostolics) Un faccioso más y algunos frailes menos (One More Rebel and a Few Less Friars) After this series, Galdós did not plan to continue, but after the Spanish–American War (the "Disaster of '98"), he decided to follow with another series. Third series The divided Spain of the First Carlist War and the Regency of Maria Cristina