Reyes Calderón, professor at School of Economic and Business Sciences at the University of Navarra, has published 'Ego te absolvo. Confessions of a diplomat', a book about the life of a Spanish ambassador. According to the author, "it is an entertaining novel, with elements of intrigue, which sample Spanish life in the 18th century through the story of Joseph Alonso Ortiz, a Spanish lawyer and diplomat, who died as Spanish consul in London".

The book presentation ceremony, which took place in the entrance hall of the new Libraries building of the University of Navarra, was attended by Miguel Sanz, President of the Government of Navarra; Manuel Casado, Full Professor of Spanish language and Vice President of faculty of the academic center; José Luis Orosa, journalist; and Reyes Calderón.

This year marks the 225th anniversary of the publication of Adam Smith's 'The Wealth of Nations'. On this occasion, Professor Calderón prepared a biography of Joseph Alonso Ortiz, the first translator in Spain of the work of the Scottish economist and philosopher: "I studied the modifications he made to the original of 'The Wealth of Nations'. Some of them were forced by the Spanish Inquisition, but there were others that the translator had made on his own initiative. And that is where research began. To be exhaustive I had to know the origins of Alonso Ortiz, and I came across numerous documents about his life. When I finished the study I realized that I had great material to write a novel".

For the author, "to the extent that Adam Smith is considered the father of the world Economics , Alonso Ortiz should be considered the father of the Spanish Economics , since he wrote the first book on this topic".

A scientific challenge

Reyes Calderón affirms that the life of the protagonist of her book constituted for her "a scientific challenge , since I had to follow his biographical and doctrinal trail through multiple Spanish and British archives, without forgetting the Algerian and French ones," she says. As she explains, the conclusion drawn from reading this novel is that "the Economics is something much more human than it seems at first glance, because it is in situ in society. It is not an isolated mechanism. We are the men who make the Economics".

The author, born in Valladolid in 1961, holds a degree in Economics and a doctorate in Economics and Philosophy from the University of Navarra. She is also currently a visiting professor at the University of La Sorbonne (France) and the University of Berkeley (USA).