Rosa Montero is one of a group of women writers who came to prominence during the late 1970s and early 1980s, a period often referred to as the boom of women's writing in Spain. This study traces the socio- historical conditions which led to the boom, addresses the Spanish ambivalence towards the mother figure within the Spanish feminist movement, and discusses the use of metafiction on the creation of life narrative for women. Deals with the alternative figure of the spinster, examines the fantastic as a mode of discourse, and discusses the increasing focus on discourse with Montero's narrative. The author teaches contemporary Hispanic literary and cultural studies at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR