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Written by an international group of scholars, this edited collection provides an overview of the Spanish picaresque from its origins in tales of lowborn adventurers to its importance for the modern novel, along with consideration of the debates that the picaresque has inspired.
The term picaresque describes a specific set of early modern Spanish narratives relating the life story of a lowborn adventurer in a realist, ironic, and often humorous manner. The protagonist, the picaro or pícara (rascal), seeks upward mobility in a resolutely hierarchical society determined to prevent his - or her - ascent, and both are rich targets of satire. Spanish pícaros inspired Anglo-French rogues including Gil Blas and Tom Jones and paved the way for the modern novel.
Written by an international group of scholars, this edited collection provides an overview of the Spanish picaresque novel from its origins to the present day, along with a treatment of the debates that the picaresque has inspired. After introductory chapters on the picaresque genre and the origin of the phenomenon, the book analyses canonical texts and their role in the picaresque spectrum. Further chapters then turn to critical approaches to the genre and manifestations of the picaresque in Hispanic America, France, England, and modern Spain. Overall, the book affords readers a broad sense of the range of this rich tradition and an in-depth view of the field and its major texts.
The term picaresque describes a specific set of early modern Spanish narratives relating the life story of a lowborn adventurer in a realist, ironic, and often humorous manner. The protagonist, the picaro or pícara (rascal), seeks upward mobility in a resolutely hierarchical society determined to prevent his - or her - ascent, and both are rich targets of satire. Spanish pícaros inspired Anglo-French rogues including Gil Blas and Tom Jones and paved the way for the modern novel.
Written by an international group of scholars, this edited collection provides an overview of the Spanish picaresque novel from its origins to the present day, along with a treatment of the debates that the picaresque has inspired. After introductory chapters on the picaresque genre and the origin of the phenomenon, the book analyses canonical texts and their role in the picaresque spectrum. Further chapters then turn to critical approaches to the genre and manifestations of the picaresque in Hispanic America, France, England, and modern Spain. Overall, the book affords readers a broad sense of the range of this rich tradition and an in-depth view of the field and its major texts.
Price: $29.99
Pages: 240
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Inc.
Imprint: Tamesis Books
Publication Date:
07 July 2026
Trim Size: 9.21 X 6.14 in
ISBN: 9781855664487
Format: Paperback
BISACs:
LITERARY CRITICISM / European / General, Literature: history and criticism, LITERARY CRITICISM / European / Spanish & Portuguese, LITERARY CRITICISM / Modern / General
A good volume that registers the progressively more flexible state of the Picaresque Studies at the Anglo-American Academy. An opportunity for new generations of scholars consider the wealth hidden beneath the monumental weight of the labels and to warn of the excellent work on which picaresque studies are based of today.
This book, for its rigour, its diversity and its ability to bring together in a balanced way. A multitude of works and critical tendencies, it is a contribution of enormous value for a wide range of readers and comes to enrich the knowledge of Spanish literature of early modernity in general and of the picaresque novel in particular.
— Ana M. Rodriguez-Rodriguez
This book, for its rigour, its diversity and its ability to bring together in a balanced way. A multitude of works and critical tendencies, it is a contribution of enormous value for a wide range of readers and comes to enrich the knowledge of Spanish literature of early modernity in general and of the picaresque novel in particular.
— Ana M. Rodriguez-Rodriguez
List of Contributors
Forward
1. The Picaresque as a Genre
Edward H. Friedman
2. On the Picaresque and Its Origins
Anne J. Cruz
3. Francisco Delicado, La lozana andaluza
Marta Albalá Pelegrín
4. Lazarillo de Tormes
J. A. Garrido Ardila
5. Mateo Alemán, Guzmán de Alfarache
Howard Mancing
6. Francisco de Quevedo, La vida del buscón
Edward H. Friedman
7. La pícara Justina
Brian M. Phillips
8. Alonso Jerónimo de Salas Barbadillo, La hija de Celestina
Enrique García Santo-Tomás
9. Miguel de Cervantes and the Picaresque
Vicente Pérez de León
10. Vicente Espinel, Marcós de Obregón
John C. Parrack
11. Carlos García, La desordenada codicia de los bienes agenos
Antón García-Fernández
12. Estebanillo González
Faith S. Harden
13. Critical Approaches to the Picaresque
Hilaire Kallendorf
14. The Picaresque in Spanish America
José Luis Gastañaga Ponce de León
15. Continuations: France and England
Richard Squibbs
16. Continuity of the Picaresque: Spain
Andrés Zamora
Bibliography
Forward
1. The Picaresque as a Genre
Edward H. Friedman
2. On the Picaresque and Its Origins
Anne J. Cruz
3. Francisco Delicado, La lozana andaluza
Marta Albalá Pelegrín
4. Lazarillo de Tormes
J. A. Garrido Ardila
5. Mateo Alemán, Guzmán de Alfarache
Howard Mancing
6. Francisco de Quevedo, La vida del buscón
Edward H. Friedman
7. La pícara Justina
Brian M. Phillips
8. Alonso Jerónimo de Salas Barbadillo, La hija de Celestina
Enrique García Santo-Tomás
9. Miguel de Cervantes and the Picaresque
Vicente Pérez de León
10. Vicente Espinel, Marcós de Obregón
John C. Parrack
11. Carlos García, La desordenada codicia de los bienes agenos
Antón García-Fernández
12. Estebanillo González
Faith S. Harden
13. Critical Approaches to the Picaresque
Hilaire Kallendorf
14. The Picaresque in Spanish America
José Luis Gastañaga Ponce de León
15. Continuations: France and England
Richard Squibbs
16. Continuity of the Picaresque: Spain
Andrés Zamora
Bibliography