Heborn at Cabra, in the province of Córdoba, and was educated at Málaga and at the University of Granada, where he took his degree in law, and then entered upon a diplomatic career (1847).

Afterwards, he was a member of the Spanish legations at Lisbon (1850), Rio de Janeiro (1851–53), Dresden and St. Petersburg (1854–57 with the Duke of Osuna).

He wrote about the latter mission in Cartas desde Rusia, poking "gentle fun" at his fellow diplomat, Mauricio Álvarez de las Asturias Bohorques y Guiráldez, the third Duke of Gor.

It depicts the gradual realization by a young seminarian of the empty vanity of his vocation, culminating in a shattering denouement.

Other novels are Las ilusions del doctor Faustino (1875), El comendador Mendoza (1877), Pasarse de listo, and Doña Luz (1879).