Lazarillo de Tormes, printed first in 1554, became an unlikely sensation across Europe, spawning an entire literary genre; the picaresque novel. Published anonymously, the story of a little pauper’s unlucky adventures, it overcame censorship and condemnation by the Inquisition and Spanish Crown to influence later writers like Cervantes and Voltaire.Lazarillo travels across Spain of the Golden Age, meeting all walks of life; clerics, beggars, sheriffs, aristocrats. It is a satiric and wry glimpse into a world that is all too familiar.This entertaining new translation is drawn from the original editions, not the later expurgated and appended editions. It features copious illustrations by Maurice Lenoir.