2 h 53 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What good is a respectable master when he keeps the bread locked away?
Lázaro de Tormes is poor, hungry, and learning fast. Born at a river mill, he leaves his mother to serve a blind beggar whose cunning comes with cruelty. As he moves from master to master, survival means watching closely, thinking quickly, and trusting appearances less.
The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes puts an ordinary boy at the heart of a sharp Spanish satire. A miserly priest and a proud, penniless squire offer little shelter from hunger. Lázaro tells his story in a letter to Your Worship, but his straight-faced account leaves room for doubt.
What you’ll discover
- A hungry hero Follow a boy whose search for food makes wit a matter of survival.
- Hard lessons in cunning Meet the blind beggar whose cleverness and cruelty teach Lázaro to stay alert.
- Respectability with empty pockets Look behind a gentleman's fine appearance to find pride where wealth should be.
- Laughter with a sharp edge Encounter priests, pardoners, and masters through satire that keeps hunger firmly in view.
- A voice worth questioning Listen closely as Lázaro explains himself, sounding more honest than he may be.
Who will love it
For readers who love clever underdogs, dark humor and lively first-person voices, and for anyone curious about where the modern novel found its roguish heroes and its eye for hunger and pretense.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A boy born at a mill learns fear early
- A blind master teaches him to keep his eyes open
- A miserly priest locks away the bread
- A proud squire has honor but no dinner
- A friar and a pardoner show how people are fooled
- Honor, hunger and hypocrisy are the real subjects
- A letter told by the man he became
Who’s who
- Lazaro de TormesA poor boy born at a mill, who tells his own story and learns to survive on wit and cunning.
- The blind manLazaro's first master, a shrewd beggar who sells prayers and cures and keeps his bread locked in a bag.
- The clergymanA miserly priest in Maqueda who locks away bread and onions and counts every loaf.
- The squireA proud, penniless gentleman in Toledo who cares more about honor and appearances than about eating.
- The pardonerA shameless seller of indulgences who stages a false miracle with the help of a constable.
- Antonia PerezLazaro's widowed mother, who struggles to feed her sons and sends Lazaro to serve a blind man.
- ZaydeA groom who becomes Lazaro's stepfather and brings food to the family by taking goods from the stables.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 2 h 53 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 7 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Das Leben des Lazarillo von Tormes in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Das Leben des Lazarillo von Tormes
by Anonym · 1554
A starving boy in Spain outwits a blind beggar, a miserly priest and a proud but penniless squire.
Easy read2–5 hours to read25 languages
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
What would you do if hunger were your teacher? Lazarillo de Tormes tells his own story in a letter to an unnamed Your Honor.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A boy born at a mill learns fear early
The book is a letter written by Lazaro de Tormes to an unnamed Your Honor. He decides to begin at the beginning so that his whole character can be understood. He was born, he says, in the river Tormes, near Salamanca, in the flour mill where his father worked as a miller.
When Lazaro is eight, his father is accused of cheating customers over their sacks of grain and is banished. He dies serving a knight in a campaign against the Moors. His widowed mother moves to the city and takes in washing. She befriends a dark-skinned groom named Zayde, who brings meat, bread and firewood. Lazaro learns to like him, because his visits mean the family eats. When the steward finds that stable goods are vanishing, Lazaro is questioned under threat and tells everything. Zayde is flogged and his mother is punished.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Das Leben des Lazarillo von Tormes
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Lazarillo de Tormes about?
It is the first-person tale of a poor Spanish boy who serves a series of masters, including a blind beggar, a miserly priest and a penniless squire. He survives on wit, and the book shows the greed and pretense around him.
Who wrote Lazarillo de Tormes and when?
The author is anonymous. The work appeared in Spain in the sixteenth century and is thought of as the first picaresque novel. It is fiction, though it draws on real places like Salamanca and Toledo.
What does picaresque mean?
Picaresque describes a tale about a clever, low-born rogue who moves from master to master and survives by wit. Lazarillo de Tormes is the model, with short episodes, a humorous voice and sharp views of society.
More by Anonym
All 37 booksMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
