Ecuadorean essayist, often called one of the finest writers of Spanish American prose of the 19th century.

After a brief period during which he served in his country's foreign service, Montalvo spent most of his life in exile, writing powerful essays attacking a succession of Ecuador's dictators. He was distinguished as a liberal thinker and a moralist and became famous for his Siete tratados (1882; “Seven Treatises”), which offered moral standards for the educated person. Montalvo's Capítulos que se le olvidaron a Cervantes (1895; “Chapters That Were Omitted by Cervantes”) was published posthumously and is considered one of the finest imitations of Miguel de Cervantes (Cervantes, Miguel de)'s famous novel, Don Quixote.