Join us on a literary world trip!
Add this book to bookshelf
Grey
Write a new comment Default profile 50px
Grey
Subscribe to read the full book or read the first pages for free!
I want to read the book!
All characters reduced
Clements Markham - cover

Clements Markham

Anonymous

Publisher: Caelwick Press

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Summary

Lazarillo de Tormes is not much older than ten when, after some unfortunate choices by his stepfather, he's turned out of his house to become a seeing companion for a blind man who travels from place to place selling cures for all types of complaints. This works out pretty well for both of them until Lazarillo, having taken a liking to his new master's jug of wine, takes one too many sips and is violently put in his place. Finding a second master only increases his difficulties, as this one is miserly with food to the point of danger; after another misadventure he has to move on again. Over the course of many archetypal masters, Lazarillo tells the story of his boyhood. Published anonymously in 1554, The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes and of His Fortunes and Adversities is generally held to be the first picaresque novella, and accrued considerable fame and notoriety. Its less-than-generous characterization of the priesthood saw the Inquisition place it on their list of banned books, although a couple of decades later an expurgated version was allowed. Even half a century later, Cervantes was still referencing the work in Don Quixote as something his readership would be assumed to be familiar with. While the translator of this 1908 edition, Clements Markham, confidently explains in the introduction that this book was authored by Don Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, the authorship remains disputed to this day. Anonymous was a significant literary figure whose work has stood the test of time. This public domain edition preserves the original text in its entirety, making it accessible to modern readers and scholars alike. As a work of classic literary fiction, Clements Markham exemplifies the narrative craft and social insight that defined great storytelling of its era. Literary fiction of this period was characterized by careful attention to character psychology, social milieu, and the moral questions that animated public discourse.
Available since: 05/19/2026.
Print length: 77 pages.

Other books that might interest you

  • Gusev - cover

    Gusev

    Anton Chekhov

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0 
    "Gusev"  is an 1890 short story by Anton Chekhov.
Several discharged soldiers return home from the Far East by ship. Confined to the hospital cabin, they are all apparently dying of consumption and seemingly indifferent to their condition. Among them are Gusev, a mild, racist, slightly dim man, and the mysterious Pavel Ivanovich, an ardent "protester" who often goes on diatribes (many of which Gusev either misunderstands or ignores) about his lifelong commitment to telling people "the truth to their faces". Ivanovich is proud of having riled every single person around him during his three years' service in the East, and thinks all the other men present are fools. He later reveals that he is the son of a priest and had to disguise himself as a peasant to buy his third-class ticket. One day, while Gusev is asleep, Pavel Ivanovich dies. One of the other soldiers, seeing that Gusev will also die shortly, helps him up to the ship's deck, where they look at the waves crashing into one another. Several days later, Gusev dies. His body is sewn into a sailcloth sack and weighted. After a short prayer, it is thrown into the ocean, where a shark bites at it. Up above, the ocean begins to reflect the colors of the sky, "...tender, joyous, passionate colours for which it is hard to find a name in human speech".
    Show book
  • The Outdoor Chums - cover

    The Outdoor Chums

    Quincy Allen

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0 
    The Outdoor Chums by Quincy Allen is an exciting classic adventure novel that follows a group of spirited young friends as they embrace the challenges and discoveries of life in the great outdoors. Through camping trips, exploration, and unexpected adventures, the Outdoor Chums learn the importance of teamwork, courage, responsibility, and loyalty.

Quincy Allen captures the thrill of outdoor exploration with a lively story filled with friendship, mystery, and moments of excitement. As the boys face new situations and overcome obstacles together, they develop confidence, resourcefulness, and a deeper appreciation for nature and the bonds that unite them.

A treasured example of vintage juvenile adventure fiction, The Outdoor Chums offers readers a nostalgic journey into a world of camping, exploration, and youthful discovery. Perfect for fans of classic adventure stories, outdoor tales, and wholesome coming-of-age fiction, this enduring novel celebrates the timeless values of friendship, perseverance, and the spirit of adventure.
    Show book
  • The Elusive Pimpernel - A Further Romance of the Terror - cover

    The Elusive Pimpernel - A...

    Baroness Orczy

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0 
    Chauvelin has learned who the Scarlet Pimpernel is, and this time he does not want an arrest — he wants Sir Percy Blakeney to walk into Boulogne of his own accord and choose between his wife and his honor. Orczy arrived in London from Hungary at fifteen with no English; a dozen publishers rejected the first Pimpernel before the stage version made it a phenomenon. Fifty-nine plates drawn from Thomas Lawrence and Edvard Munch, among others, catch the restless faces and night-lit shores of a Europe caught between ballroom and Terror.
    Show book
  • A Woman-Hater - A Misogynist and a Woman Doctor - cover

    A Woman-Hater - A Misogynist and...

    Charles Reade

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0 
    A misogynist landowner, a woman who qualifies as a physician when no English university will let her, and a village that has to decide whose side it is on. Reade wrote campaigning novels and this one argued for women in medicine while the first of them were being refused degrees. This edition is bound with a gallery of 56 plates of painting, among them works by William Powell Frith, Rebecca Dulcibella Orpen and Spencer Gore, and includes three restored and coloured in-text illustrations.
    Show book
  • Les Miserables Volume 3 - cover

    Les Miserables Volume 3

    Victor Hugo

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0 
    In "Les Misérables Volume 3" by Victor Hugo, the lives of Jean Valjean, Cosette, and Marius become increasingly intertwined amid rising revolutionary fervor in Paris. As Valjean continues to protect Cosette while evading Javert, Marius joins the fight for liberty, torn between love and duty. The novel explores themes of sacrifice, justice, and the clash between personal desires and societal ideals. Hugo masterfully depicts both intimate struggles and grand historical events, capturing the chaos of rebellion and the resilience of the human spirit. With rich detail and emotional depth, this volume builds toward a powerful climax, blending hope, tragedy, and redemption.
    Show book
  • Lazarus - cover

    Lazarus

    Leonid Andreyev

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0 
    What did Lazarus see beyond the veil of death?
In this haunting masterpiece of psychological and philosophical fiction, Leonid Andreyev conjures a vision of resurrection unlike any ever imagined. Lazarus is not a tale of triumph over death—but of what death leaves behind.
Strange, unsettling, and metaphysical, this is the story of a man raised from the grave only to cast a cold, unblinking gaze back upon the living. Wherever he walks, beauty withers, joy dissolves, and the veneer of meaning slips away. Those who look into his eyes do not die—they unravel.
Written in a feverish prose that borders on the ecstatic and apocalyptic, Lazarus is a hypnotic meditation on the abyss that separates existence from extinction—and the unspeakable truth that might wait on the other side.
Perfect for listeners drawn to existential horror, metaphysical fiction, or the eerie brilliance of Dostoevsky, Kafka, or Poe.
    Show book