INTRODUCTION
_Lazarillo of Tormes_ appeared in sixteenth-century Spain like a
breath of fresh air among hundreds of insipidly sentimental novels of
chivalry. With so many works full of knights who were manly and brave
enough to fight any adversary, but prone to become weak in the knees
when they saw their fair lady nearby, was it any wonder that Lazarillo,
whose only goal was to fill a realistically hungry stomach, should go
straight to the hearts of all Spain. The little novel sold enough copies for
three different editions to be issued in 1554, and then was quickly
translated into several languages. It initiated a new genre of writing called
the "picaresque."