Estebanillo González
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''La vida y hechos de Estebanillo González, hombre de buen humor'', '' Life and facts of Estebanillo González, man of good humour'', (Antwerp, 1646, and Madrid, 1652) is a Spanish
picaresque 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 ...
novel, written as a genuine autobiography of a rogue (well documented in other sources), but for some scholars, it is a work of fiction. Against the background of the
Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battl ...
, the main character writes about his life being a servant of distinguished masters, in a personal narrative all Europe around as a soldier, messenger, etc., witnessing important historic events, such as the Huguenot rebellions while placed in France as the servant to an undercover spy. He serves as part of the company under the command of Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Spain ravaging the French provinces of Champagne, Burgundy and Picardy, and even threatening Paris in 1636. It is one of the last great achievements of
Spanish Baroque literature Spanish Baroque literature is the literature written in Spain during the Baroque, which occurred during the 17th century. Spanish Baroque literature is a period of writing which begins approximately with the first works of Góngora and Lope de Veg ...
during the seventeenth century. It was translated into English by Captain John Stevens (London, 1707), ''The Spanish Libertines: or the lives of Justina, the Country Jilt, Celestina, the bawd of Madrid and Estevanillo Gonzales, the most arch and comical of scoundrels. To which is added, a play call'd An Evening's Adventures. All four written by eminent Spanish authors, and now first made English by Captain John Stevens''. He said about ''Estebanillo González'': ''"...in the opinion of many...seems to have outdone Lazarillo de Tormes, Guzman de Alfarache, and all other rogues that have hitherto appear'd in print..."''.


References

Spanish literature Spanish Baroque Picaresque novels Spanish satirical novels 1646 books 1640s novels Spanish Golden Age Gonzalez, Estebanillo {{satirical-novel-stub