An Introduction to the Nineteenth-Century Mexican Bandit Novel

In this paper I will examine representations of bandits in Mexican literature from the 19th century, the so called ‘Golden Age’ of Mexican banditry (Vanderwood, 1987: 18). The paper will touch briefly on other cultural examples of bandit representation, such as bandit ballads or corridos, and 19th-century travellers’ tales, and look at how these interacted with literary depictions.