He wrote books including "La Regenta". It is a long work, similar to Flaubert's "Madame Bovary", one of the books that helped to inspire it. Other influences included Naturalism and "Kraussism", a philosophical trend which made cultural and moral change in Spain. He also wrote Nuevo viaje al Parnaso and La Literatura en 1881 (1882), working with Armando Palacio Valdes.