Life of Lazarillo de Tormes

Published anonymously due to its anticlerical content, this Spanish novella is considered to be the founding work of the picaresque novel, a literary genre with comedic and satirical elements that depicts the adventures of a roguish hero who usually comes from a lower class and survives by his wits in a corrupt society. The work was published simultaneously in the cities of Alcalá de Henares, Burgos, and Antwerp in 1554. The story revolves around Lázaro, a boy of humble origins from Salamanca who is accused of stealing by his stepfather and is forced to become an apprentice of sorts to a blind beggar. He develops his cunning through this experience and others while serving a priest, squire, friar, pardoner, chaplain, and an archpriest. This story takes the reader on a tour of 16th century society from a “worm’s eye view” and is written in straightforward prose as opposed to the more fanciful poetry of other works. Unsurprisingly, the scathing work, equally critical of the Catholic Church and the Spanish aristocracy, was banned by the Spanish Inquisition and an unabridged version did not appear in Spain until the 19th century. It is a cornerstone of the Golden Age of Spanish literature that was translated into various languages during the 16th and 17th century. The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes continues to be influential today, inspiring the popular antihero of modern film and television.