7 h 36 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 7 h 36 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
In a city full of appetites, a woman short of money turns wit and skill into a living.
Lozana leaves Córdoba for the Rome of the popes, carrying a quick tongue and a sharp sense of what people want. In Francisco Delicado’s The Lusty Andalusian Woman, she builds a business from what she knows. Her challenge is plain: how does a poor woman stay afloat in a harsh city?
Around her, servants, cooks, courtesans, merchants and priests talk their way through daily life. Rampín, her young servant and companion, runs errands and shares her days with cheerful loyalty. Built almost entirely from conversation, the novel moves through streets, kitchens, bedrooms and doorways, letting earthy comedy sit beside a harder look at survival.
What you’ll discover
- A woman with wit Meet Lozana, whose curiosity and practical skills become the tools of her trade.
- Rome behind the doorways Step into a noisy city of strangers, where people from many walks of life meet.
- Comedy with an edge Enjoy sharp, earthy exchanges that also ask what it costs to get by.
- A story told in voices Hear characters reveal their world through talk, with little description standing between you and them.
- The Author steps inside Encounter Delicado as a character who talks with Lozana and seems to gather her stories.
Who will love it
Readers who love a talkative heroine, a crowded street scene and sharp comic dialogue will feel at home here. It suits anyone curious about daily life in Renaissance Rome and the sly ways people earn a living.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Lozana makes her words pay
- Aldonza learns to seize an opening
- Love offers no lasting protection
- Familiarity opens doors in Rome
- Rampín becomes more than a guide
- Knowing customs becomes a trade
- Every sale becomes a performance
- People reveal themselves through speech
- The city bargains through everyone
Who’s who
- LozanaBorn Aldonza in Córdoba, she is a sharp, funny, resourceful woman who wants to live well and free in Rome through her wit.
- RampínA young Roman who becomes her servant and lover, he is clumsy and hot-tempered, and he wants a safe, comfortable life at her side.
- DiomedesA young merchant from Italy who takes Aldonza east as his lover and wants to marry her, until his father intervenes.
- TrigoA shrewd Jewish broker in Rome who finds Lozana her house, sells her diamond and wants a fee for every favor.
- The AuthorA character who watches Lozana, argues with her about dreams, and says he is painting her portrait from life.
- SilvanoAn old acquaintance of Lozana who recalls her cures, describes the Author's home town and offers to read her favorite books aloud.
- CoridonA lovesick young man from Mantua who wants to win a married woman and takes Lozana's odd advice.
- DiviciaAn older woman who returns from a fair with knives to give away, loves a good meal and trusts spells.
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- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
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The Lusty Andalusian Woman
by Francisco Delicado · 1528
A cook from Córdoba talks her way through Rome, selling charms, cosmetics and favors to courtesans and cardinals.
Medium level2–5 hours to read2 languages
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In short
What does a woman do when she arrives in Rome with only the proceeds of a ring? In this book she talks.
The Lusty Andalusian Woman at a glance
- Reading time
- About 4 h 55 min3 h 50 min fast, 5 h 50 min slow
- Length
- 69,600 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1528by Francisco Delicado
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A clever girl from Córdoba learns her trade
The book opens with a girl named Aldonza, born in Córdoba, quick with her mind and quicker with her tongue. After her father dies she follows her mother to Granada, and she runs errands for her mother's lawsuits. People take her for a born legal agent. Her mother tries to teach her weaving, but the girl prefers plotting to warping.
After her mother dies she is alone in Seville. A female relative asks what she can do, and Aldonza answers with food. She lists noodles, meatballs with fresh cilantro, stews, fritters and honey sweets from her grandmother's kitchen. She convinces people by pouring out detail, and the aunt has no reason to doubt her.
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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
- 1528
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Delicado, Francisco. The Lusty Andalusian Woman. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-lusty-andalusian-woman.
Delicado, F. (2026). The lusty Andalusian woman. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-lusty-andalusian-woman (Original work published 1528)
Delicado, Francisco. The Lusty Andalusian Woman. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-lusty-andalusian-woman.
@book{delicado2026lusty,
author = {Delicado, Francisco},
title = {The Lusty Andalusian Woman},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-lusty-andalusian-woman},
note = {First published 1528}
}
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What is The Lusty Andalusian Woman about?
It follows Lozana, a witty woman from Córdoba who loses her lover and arrives in Rome with almost nothing. She builds a living from cosmetics, cures, advice and connections among courtesans, clerics, merchants and gamblers.
Who is Lozana?
Lozana is the main character, born Aldonza in Córdoba. The name means lively and lush, and people give it to her for her beauty and talk. She travels east with a merchant, then lives in Rome as a go-between and beautician.
Is The Lusty Andalusian Woman a true story?
It is fiction, though the author says he painted it from life and wrote it in Rome, finishing in 1524. Real streets, markets, customs and prices of the city fill the dialogue, which gives it a lively documentary feel.
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