7 h 41 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 7 h 41 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A magistrate wants the miller's wife—and expects his three-cornered hat to give him all the power he needs.
In Andalusia, Uncle Lucas and Frasquita live happily at their mill. He is cheerful and quick-witted; she is loyal, strong-willed and ready to defend their home. Then the Corregidor, the town's vain chief magistrate, sets his sights on Frasquita. Their marriage stands in the path of a man who expects obedience.
With his sly servant Garduña, the Corregidor begins a scheme that draws the village into a night of tricks, mistaken identities and jealousy. Pedro Antonio de Alarcón tells this short comedy with the warmth of a storyteller sharing local lore. Even clever Lucas finds that suspicion can make good sense hard to hold.
What you’ll discover
- A marriage under pressure Meet a devoted couple whose happy life faces an unwelcome intrusion from the town's highest official.
- A wife with resolve Frasquita brings loyalty and a strong will to the struggle over her home.
- Authority meets village wit Discover a comedy that questions the obedience demanded by titles, uniforms and rank.
- Jealousy clouds good judgment Watch suspicion unsettle even Lucas, a miller who prides himself on outsmarting others.
- A storyteller's teasing warmth Enjoy village life through a friendly narrator who cannot resist commenting on the tale.
Who will love it
This book is for readers who enjoy a lively comic plot, spirited heroines, sly narrators and the sights and sounds of old Andalusia, and for anyone who likes folk tales told with wit.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A Spain asleep behind the Pyrenees
- A miller's house everyone wants to visit
- A happy marriage with one weak point
- The man in the three-cornered hat
- The grape arbor and the fallen chair
- Garduña's plan and the summons at night
- Two spouses, two roads, one night
- The donkeys bray and the door stands open
- Jealousy, faith and the cost of doubt
- Power, rank and how comedy cuts them down
- A ballad told with a wink
Who’s who
- Uncle LucasA hunchbacked, witty miller from Murcia who trusts his wife completely and uses humor as his weapon.
- Señá FrasquitaHis tall, lively and fearless wife from Navarre, admired by the whole city and loyal to her husband.
- Don Eugenio de ZúñigaThe corregidor, a toothless, bowlegged official in a huge three-cornered hat who wants the miller's wife.
- GarduñaThe corregidor's thin, quick constable, who plans the scheme and flatters his master.
- Juan LópezThe village mayor, a bully to his inferiors who obeys the corregidor and calls himself a king.
- Doña MercedesThe corregidor's dignified, proud wife, a lady of old family who is not as helpless as she appears.
- The BishopA kindly, humorous churchman who enjoys the mill's grapes and teases the corregidor with Latin.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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El sombrero de tres picos
by Pedro Antonio de Alarcón · 1874
A corregidor in a three-cornered hat plots to win Señá Frasquita while her husband is sent away.
Medium level2–5 hours to readEspañol
Excellent
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In short
What does a powerful man do when a woman laughs at him and her husband is sent out of the way? In The Three-Cornered Hat, the answer begins on an October afternoon, when the corregidor of an Andalusian city sets out on foot toward a flour mill, followed by a thin constable.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A Spain asleep behind the Pyrenees
The story opens somewhere after 1804 and before 1808, in the reign of Charles the Fourth. Europe is being remade by Napoleon, but Spain barely feels it.
News arrives by a weekly gazette, and most people treat the French emperor like a hero from a book of chivalry. Life goes on in the old way, with friars, the Inquisition, local privileges and a great many taxes. A person of standing rises for Mass, takes chocolate, eats a stew, naps and shuts the front gate before the curfew bell. The narrator praises this cobwebbed world with obvious irony.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1874
- Language
- Español
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Alarcón, Pedro Antonio de. The Three-Cornered Hat. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-three-cornered-hat.
Alarcón, P. A. de. (2026). The three-cornered hat. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-three-cornered-hat (Original work published 1874)
Alarcón, Pedro Antonio de. The Three-Cornered Hat. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-three-cornered-hat.
@book{alarcon2026threecornered,
author = {Alarcón, Pedro Antonio de},
title = {The Three-Cornered Hat},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-three-cornered-hat},
note = {First published 1874}
}
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What is The Three-Cornered Hat about?
It follows a corregidor who plots to seduce a miller's wife, Señá Frasquita, by sending her husband away for a night. The plan produces mistaken identities, stubborn pride and comic reversals in Andalusia around 1805.
Is The Three-Cornered Hat based on a true story?
Alarcón says it comes from a popular ballad he heard as a young man, and he published his version in 1874. It is a folk tale, not a documented event, though it is set in a real historical moment.
What does the three-cornered hat symbolize?
The hat and the scarlet cloak stand for the corregidor's authority. The narrator later calls them a specter of old absolutism, a kind of scarecrow that once frightened people and later became an object of laughter.
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.
More by Pedro Antonio de Alarcón
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