5 h 58 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 5 h 58 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when a grumpy soldier meets a young woman with the courage to be kind?
In Captain Poison, Pedro Antonio de Alarcón brings a grumpy soldier and a courageous young woman into a classic Spanish novel of romance and humour. Their contrasting temperaments place kindness at the heart of a story about unexpected possibilities.
The soldier’s grumpiness and the young woman’s courage give you two very different people to discover. Romance, humour, and satire shape the invitation: look beyond a difficult manner, and consider the unexpected power of kindness without mistaking it for weakness.
What you’ll discover
- A grumpy soldier Meet a central figure whose difficult temperament gives this romance its distinctive edge.
- A courageous young woman Discover a heroine who brings courage to a story shaped by contrasting temperaments.
- Kindness with unexpected power Explore kindness as a force worth noticing, rather than a quality to overlook.
- Romance meets humour Find a Spanish novel that brings romantic interest together with humour and satire.
- An unlikely contrast Let grumpiness and courage draw you toward the possibilities between two different people.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you love comic romance, grumpy heroes and quick-witted heroines. It also suits anyone who likes crackling dialogue and a love story won by kindness.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A street fight brings three women a stranger
- Angustias crosses the street under fire
- The patient wakes up and starts giving orders
- He calls himself a monster and demands a hospital
- A marquis arrives with speeches and a family history
- A poor widow refuses the rich man's money
- Cards, quarrels and a slow change of heart
- A visitor, a collapse and a deathbed promise
- Kindness is stronger than the armor of a tough man
- How the narrator tells the tale with humor
Who’s who
- Don Jorge de CórdobaThe grumpy army captain nicknamed Captain Poison, who hates kindness and favours, yet cannot stay away from the women who saved him.
- AngustiasThe calm, brave young woman who rescues the captain and teases him, and who is as proud as he is.
- Doña TeresaAngustias's widowed mother, a proud Aragonese lady who claims the title of countess and gives all she has to a stranger.
- RosaThe timid, talkative servant from Galicia who fears bullets, snores in her armchair and cannot keep a secret.
- Don ÁlvaroThe Marquis of Tomillares, Jorge's rich, orderly cousin and a senator, who loves speeches and secretly plans to leave Jorge everything.
- Doctor SánchezThe skilled neighbour doctor who mends Jorge's leg and states the obvious with great seriousness.
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- Large print hardcover
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Hauptmann Gift
by Pedro Antonio de Alarcón · 1881
A fire-eating captain falls bleeding in a Madrid street and is carried into the home of three women he despises.
Medium level5–10 hours to readDeutsch
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In short
Imagine a man who would rather be shot than treated kindly. In Madrid, on the afternoon of the twenty-sixth of March, 1848, soldiers and republicans trade fire in a narrow street.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A street fight brings three women a stranger
On the afternoon of the twenty-sixth of March, 1848, a handful of republicans rises against the army of Queen Isabella the Second. The narrator says he will leave politics there and turn to more pleasant matters.
Three women live on the ground floor of a house in Preciados Street. They are a grave widow from Aragon, her daughter Angustias, and a timid, funny servant from Galicia named Rosa. Angustias is the heart of the book. The narrator calls her common sense in a skirt.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 9 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1881
- Language
- Deutsch
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Alarcón, Pedro Antonio de. Captain Poison. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/captain-poison.
Alarcón, P. A. de. (2026). Captain Poison. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/captain-poison (Original work published 1881)
Alarcón, Pedro Antonio de. Captain Poison. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/captain-poison.
@book{alarcon2026captain,
author = {Alarcón, Pedro Antonio de},
title = {Captain Poison},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/captain-poison},
note = {First published 1881}
}
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What is Captain Poison about?
It follows a grumpy army captain nicknamed Veneno who is wounded in a Madrid street fight in 1848 and nursed by a widow and her brave daughter. Their kindness slowly softens him, and he and the daughter fall in love.
Why is he called Captain Poison?
Veneno means venom or poison in Spanish. Madrid's cafes gave Jorge de Córdoba the nickname because he is always furious and ready to quarrel, yet the book shows he has never really harmed anyone except himself.
Is Captain Poison a true story?
No, it is a novel Alarcón published in 1881, set in Madrid in 1848. The captain is partly inspired by General O'Donnell, whom the author knew from the African war, and the political uprising is real history.
The author
Pedro Antonio de Alarcón
1833–1891 · Spanish novelist
Pedro Antonio de Alarcón was a Spanish novelist born in Guadix in 1833. He wrote novels, short stories, and travel accounts. His works include The Three-Cornered Hat, published in 1874, and The Scandal, published in 1875. He also worked as a journalist and politician. He died in Madrid in 1891.
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