Aparentemente con esta novela, Azorín, en el año 1941, cerraba un período de relativo silencio o de cierta desaparición de la escena literaria. Con “El escritor” el autor, da una preocupación sobre el asunto de la forma en la novela del siglo XX. Heredero de una respuesta al modelo decimonónico español, Azorín parece tantear y criticar ahora lo que se viene en el arte de la novela.
Spanish poet and writer José Augusto Trinidad Martínez Ruíz wrote most of his literary works under the pseudonym Azorín.
The eldest of nine brothers, he studied law at the University of Valencia, then worked as a journalist in Madrid. He later emigrated to Paris.
He also wrote under the names Fray José (in "The Catholic Education of Petrer") and and Juan of Lily (in "The Defender of Yecla").
He was an anarchist in his youth, but grew more conservative as he aged and supported Franco when the General came to power in Spain (although the author remained in France).