La regenta (Spanish pronunciation: [la reˈxenta]; "The [female] Regent") is a realist novel by Spanish author Leopoldo Alas, also known as ClarÃn, published in two volumes: in 1884 and the second one completed by April 1885.
His critics considered it obscene and irreligious, as well as accusing him of plagiarising Flaubert's Madame Bovary, and the novel was largely forgotten until the end of the twentieth century, when it was recognized as a classic of Spanish literature. It was first translated into English by John D. Rutherford in 2002.