[2] A physician serving in the navy, in the mid-19th century he engaged in trade with the Philippines, then managed state contracts in the islands, and eventually developed own retail and real estate business in Manila.

[8] His son and Antonio's maternal uncle general José Olaguer Feliú Ramirez became the minister of war in 1922 and later remained active as a primoderiverista politician.

His daughter and Antonio's mother, Francisca de Olaguer Feliú Ramirez (1865–1908),[9] also born and raised in the Philippines,[10] married Luis Pérez; the couple settled in Manila.

[18] She was the daughter of an Andalusian winegrower[19] and Liberal cacique Guillermo Moreno Calvo;[20] he passed into history when later sub-secretary of the Lerroux cabinet,[21] becoming the key protagonist of the 1935 Nombela affair.

[22] The couple settled at calle Muntaner in Barcelona;[23] they had 5 children, all of them sons[24] and all cultivating literary interest of their father in editorial, publishing, theatrical and librarian fields.

Four works are marked by grotesque style; except one case[42] the plot is set in contemporary times and the protagonists are involved in twisted intrigues which seem to underline absurdities of daily life, all told in a farcical, optimistic, amusing manner.

It was at this time that the young Antonio assumed management of the weekly;[61] following the Civil War La Familia, already as his own property,[62] was re-launched and enjoyed its heyday in the 1950s.

[63] Pérez de Olaguer kept running the review as its director[64] until the late 1960s;[65] at some stage he tried to build a satellite infrastructure, launching periodical veladas literarias.

[66] Until his death La Familia was one of key platforms of popular Catholic culture in Catalonia, though its importance declined as secularization and consumer lifestyles advanced.

Other of Pérez de Olaguer's editorial activities were less successful: Traditionalist weekly Alta Veu[67] and humorous reviews Don Fantasma[68] and Guirigay,[69] launched in the mid-1930s, proved short-lived, though Momento[70] kept appearing in 1951-1954.

[79] This thread climaxed during the Civil War; once Pérez de Olaguer resumed writing in October 1936[80] his light and humorous style gave way to serious if not pathetic tone.

[83] In the Francoist era Pérez de Olaguer remained engaged in numerous Catalan Catholic cultural initiatives, those flavored by Traditionalism rather than those advancing a Christian-Democratic outlook.

His position versus the Unification Decree and buildup of the Francoist regime is not clear; after 1937 his activity as author declined sharply, yet in 1939 Franco watched the victory parade in Barcelona from the balcony of Casa Pérez Samanillo.

In early 1949 Fal travelled to Barcelona seeking last-minute reconciliation, but Pérez de Olaguer informed him that "por aquel camino el carlismo no podía continuar".

[120] The move triggered what looked like rapprochement between Javieristas and Sivattistas; it climaxed when two groups, since 1949 staging 2 separate Montserrat feasts, agreed to have one, very much the result of Pérez de Olaguer's conciliatory work.

The document was to be stored by Sivatte but Don Javier soon developed second thoughts and demanded it is to be in custody of Pérez de Olaguer, the king's trusted man in Catalonia.

[123] To his great surprise, Sivatte made the Perpignan pledge public during the meeting of Carlist executive in Estella,[124] which heavily damaged Don Javier's relations with Pérez de Olaguer.

[127] Pérez de Olaguer avoided entanglements in Francoist structures though he used to meet high regional officials of the regime, be it provincial civil governor,[128] capitán general[129] or alcalde.

[135] Pérez de Olaguer's early attempts were acknowledged with patronizing tone; critics admitted potential, unbiased fresh look and writing ease yet stayed cautious and some alluded to a premature debut,[136] though Jacinto Benavente approvingly prologued his 1934 volume.

[137] Pérez de Olaguer gained some attention due to his grotesque novels and plays; commended for gracious style,[138] original humor[139] and optimistic humanism[140] they were placed in the farcical tradition of Rabelais[141] or Molière.

[144] Más leal que galante earned Pérez de Olaguer great popularity among the Carlists;[145] in 1935 he was already invited as a literary arbiter[146] and received homages.

[147] During the Civil War and early Francoism Pérez de Olaguer emerged among more popular writers; some of his works were re-printed 4 times,[148] Más leal was continuously staged commercially and occasionally he kept attending literary juries.

As a documentary it has not been proven incorrect until today; at times it remains quoted by scholars though they usually[168] stigmatize Pérez de Olaguer as a Nationalist partisan,[169] a source which "does not inspire confidence"[170] or "ideologically committed lay Catholic".

[171] Internationally he was acknowledged mostly thanks to work on Japanese atrocities in the Philippines and until today the volume is considered "deeply and broadly researched platform" that every scholarly investigation of the issue must commence with.