Alonso de Castillo (1584?, probably in

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1647?, probably in Palermo) was a Spanish novelist and playwright. He is said to have been baptized October 1, 1584. He is next heard of at

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in 1619 as a man of literary tastes. While in the service of the Marquis de Villars, he issued his first work, ''Donaires del Parnaso'' (1624–1625), two volumes of humorous poems; his ''Tardes entretenidas'' (1625) and ''Jornadas alegres'' (1626) proved that he was a novelist by vocation. Shortly afterwards he joined the household of the Marquis de los Vélez,

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, and published in quick succession three clever

picaresque novel The picaresque novel ( Spanish: ''picaresca'', from ''pícaro'', for "rogue" or "rascal") is a genre of prose fiction. It depicts the adventures of a roguish, but "appealing hero", usually of low social class, who lives by his wits in a corru ...

s: ''La Niña de los embustes, Teresa de Manzanares'' (1634), ''Las Aventuras del Bachiller Trapaza'' (1637), and a continuation entitled ''La Garduña de Sevilla y Anzuelo de las bolsas'' (1642). To these shrewd cynical stories he owes his reputation. He followed the Marquis de los Vélez in his disastrous campaign in

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(the

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) and accompanied him to

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, where the defeated general was sent as ambassador. Castillo Solórzano's death occurred before 1648, but the exact date is uncertain. His prolonged absence from Madrid prevented him from writing as copiously for the stage as he would otherwise have done; but he was popular as a playwright both at home and abroad. His ''Marqués del Cigarral'' and ''El Mayorazgo figurón'' are the sources respectively of Scarron's ''Don Jophet d'Arménie'' and ''L'Héritier ridicule''. Among his numerous remaining works may be mentioned ''Las harpías en Madrid'' (1633), ''Fiestas del Jardín'' (1634), ''Los Alivios de Casandra'' (1640) and the posthumous ''Quinta de Laurel'' (1649); the witty observation of these books forms a singular contrast to the prim devotion of his ''Sagrario de Valencia'' (1635).

References

Bibliography

*Alan Soons, ''Alonso de Castillo Solórzano'', Boston(USA): Twayne Publishers, 1978. *Alan Soons, ''Siete Siglos de Autores Españoles'' ed. Kurt & Theo Reichenberger, Kassel, 1991: 143-146 {{DEFAULTSORT:Castillo Solorzano, Alonso de Spanish novelists Spanish Baroque people Spanish Golden Age 1580s births 1640s deaths Spanish male dramatists and playwrights Spanish male novelists 17th-century Spanish dramatists and playwrights 17th-century Spanish novelists Baroque writers