Piarres I

The masterpiece of classical Basque prose, published in 1643. A moral treatise against putting everything off until later, written with a richness of language that is still the model for literary Basque.

Pedro Agerre Axular

Considered the first novel written in Basque, around 1802. Dialogues between a wise Biscayan farmer and a town barber paint rural life and defend the richness of the language.

Juan Antonio Mogel

A short novel from 1889 and a gem of Northern Basque literature. The life of a character from rural Lapurdi, told with humor in lively, popular Basque.

Jean Baptiste Elizanburu

A 1906 novel set in the fishing port of Ondarroa. It portrays the lives of Basque fishermen and their bond with the sea, and it's one of the great classics of Basque fiction.

Txomin Agirre

Txomin Agirre's mountain novel, published in 1912. It follows a family of shepherds in the farmhouses around Arantzazu and is seen as the high point of the Basque novel of customs.

Txomin Agirre