Luisa Carnés (Madrid, 1905 - Mexico City, 1964) was born into a working class family in the Las Letras neighbourhood of Madrid. At the age of eleven she went to work in a millinery workshop. She also began writing when she was very young. Her first book, Peregrinos de calvario (Calvary Pilgrims), published in 1928, was a collection of short stories, and this was followed by the novel Natacha (1930), set in a textile workshop, not dissimilar from the one she knew so well. Based on her experience as a waitress, Tea Rooms: Mujeres obreras (Tea Rooms: Working Women; 1934, Hoja de Lata, 2016) received a warn critical reception on its publication, laying emphasis on its innovation and the strength of the narrative. When the Civil War broke out, Carnés focussed on militant journalism. After the republican defeat, she went into exile and ended up in Mexico, where she continued writing until her premature death.