Miquel Llor Forcada is one of the greatest 20th century novelists. Following in the footsteps of Emili Vilanove, Narcís Oller, Caterina Albert and Prudenci Bertrana, Llor introduces the pessimistic, disillusioned vision of modernity, following the models of Marcel Proust, André Gide and Italo Svevo. In 1928, he published Tàntal, which caused a certain amount of scandal; but it is with Laura in the City of Saints (Crexells Prize, 1930) that the author reaches full novelistic maturity and receives recognition. The author of other costumbrists novels, Llor became deeply depressed during the Civil War and, in 1947, published La sonrisa de los santos (The Smile of the Saints), a follow-up to Laura in the City of Saints, a species of rectification of the latter's audacious propositions. He is also the author of the important novel Todos los cuentos (All the Stories, 1950).