He was born at Madrid, the son of a German carpenter, and was educated for the priesthood. Having no religious vocation, he followed his father's trade till 1830, when he learned shorthand and joined the staff of the Gaceta. His earliest dramatic essays were translations from Molière, Voltaire and Alexandre Dumas; he then turned to adapting old Spanish plays, and in 1837 produced his first original play, Los Amantes de Teruel, the subject of which had previously been used by Andrés Rey de Artieda, Tirso de Molina and Juan Perez de Montalban. Los Amantes de Teruel at once made the author's reputation, but Doña Mencia (1840) and Alfonso el Casto (1841) were disappointments; it was not till 1845 that he anuroached his former success with La Jura en Santa Gadea.
Hartzenbusch was in charge of the National Library from 1862 to 1875, and was an indefatigable editor of many national classics. Inferior in inspiration to other contemporary Spanish dramatists, Hartzenbusch excelled his rivals in versatility and in conscientious workmanship.
This entry was originally from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.