Manuel Argüello Mora was born in San José, Costa Rica

San José, Costa Rica

San José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica. Located in the Central Valley, San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation.Founded in 1738 by order of Cabildo de León, San...

 in 1834. He is one of the first Costa Rican authors, and with 1888's Misterio, was its first novelist. He obtained his education at the University of Santo Tomás

University of Santo Tomas

The Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines , is a private Roman Catholic university run by the Order of Preachers in Manila. Founded on April 28, 1611 by archbishop of Manila Miguel de Benavides, it has the oldest extant university charter in the...

 in Costa Rica and the Universidad de San Carlos

Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala

The Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala It is the biggest and oldest university of Guatemala, also it is the fourth founded in the Americas....

 in Guatemala

Guatemala

Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...

, where he obtained a degree in law

Law degree

A Law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers; but while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not themselves confer a license...

. Orphaned at a young age, he was brought up by his uncle Juan Rafael Mora Porras

Juan Rafael Mora Porras

Juan Rafael Mora Porras was President of Costa Rica from 1849 to 1859.He first assumed the presidency following José María Castro's resignation and was subsequently reelected in 1853 and 1859....

, the president

President

A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...

 of Costa Rica between 1849 and 1859, and his historical novel

Historical novel

According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...

 La trinchera recounts Mora Porras' campaign against William Walker's forces in Nicaragua

Nicaragua

Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...

 in 1856. After Mora Porras was deposed, he followed his uncle into exile

Exile

Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...

 in Europe in 1859. He returned in 1860 during Mora Porras' attempt to regain power, and was spared from the firing squad which executed the former president. Between 1860 and 1902 he served on the Costa Rican Supreme Court

Supreme court

A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of many legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, instance court, judgment court, high court, or apex court...

 and was the rector

Rector

The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...

 of the University of Santo Tomás. Along with writing within a number of genres, he also founded the weekly newspaper La Reforma. He died in San José in 1902.