The Rogue: Or The Life of Guzman de Alfarache.
ALEMAN, Matheo.
The Rogue: Or The Life of Guzman de Alfarache.
First Edition of Matheo Aleman's The Rogue: Or The Life of Guzman de Alfarache
London: Printed for Edward Blount, 1623.
$2,200.00
In Stock
Item Number: 151266
First edition in English of this seminal Spanish picaresque novel. Imperial octavo, written in English with a few leaves in Spanish, bound in full polished calf with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands, ruling to the front and rear panels stamped in blind, all edges speckled red, turn-ins and inner dentelles stamping in blind, marbled endpapers, blue ribbon tied in, title page vignette, illustrated with decorations. Anonymously translated by James Mabbe (1572-1642) under the pseudonym Don Diego Puede. In very good condition. Ownership plate and history about the author adhered to the verso of the front free endpaper.
The Rogue: Or, the Life of Guzman de Alfarache (1599; 1604) by Mateo Alemán is a landmark work of the Spanish picaresque tradition that recounts the life of Guzmán, a clever but morally troubled antihero who survives through deception, theft, and shifting fortunes across Spain and Italy. Presented as a first-person confession by Guzmán while imprisoned as a galley slave, the narrative traces his descent into crime while reflecting on the moral consequences of his actions. Interwoven with sermons and philosophical commentary, the novel offers a sharp critique of social corruption, poverty, and hypocrisy in early modern society.
