5 h 21 minAudiobook6 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
In Lima, a street name, a whispered scandal, or a clever rogue can open a door into Peru’s past.
In Peruvian Traditions, Ricardo Palma brings together short tales that mingle archive research, local legend, gossip, and humor. Most return to colonial Peru, where Spanish viceroys rule from Lima. Others reach into the Inca past and the early republic. Across these stories, pride and folly give history a lively human face.
Viceroys share the stage with priests, nuns, smugglers, lovers, and judges. Servants outsmart their betters, while cheats and gamblers reveal another side of society. Palma calls each piece a tradition: a form between history and fiction, rooted in documents, sayings, street names, and remembered stories. His wit invites you to explore how a nation tells its own past.
What you’ll discover
- History meets local legend Discover how documents and old stories come together in Palma’s distinctive traditions.
- Power with a human face Meet viceroys whose authority offers Palma rich ground for irony and gentle mockery.
- Faith in colonial life Explore tales where holy figures, accounts of miracles, convents, and processions shape Lima’s world.
- Rogues with quick wits Follow clever servants, jealous husbands, and quick-witted women through stories alive with human folly.
- A city worth wandering Wander Lima’s streets, balconies, and plazas through tales filled with affection for the city.
Who will love it
For readers who love short tales, colonial history told with humor, and the flavor of Latin American storytelling.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A tradition blends fact and legend
- Viceroys and the theater of power
- Saints, priests and the colorful Church
- Rogues, lovers and clever tricksters
- Lima as a living character
- Humor as a way of telling history
- Building a national memory
- How the tales have lasted
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
- 5 h 21 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 6 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, for the whole household.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 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 Peruvian Traditions 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.
Peruvian Traditions
In colonial Lima, viceroys, lovers and rogues reveal pride and folly in tales that mingle history, gossip and wit.
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- The whole household
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 8
A tradition blends fact and legend
Palma invented a form that sits between history and fiction. Each tradition starts from a real document, a street name, a saying or an old story that people in Lima still repeated. He then builds a short narrative around it, often only a few pages long.
He did not claim to be a strict historian. He said, in effect, that his pieces were history told in a lighter way, with room for invention where records ran out. Readers should therefore treat the details as colorful, not as sworn evidence.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, for the whole household. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - The whole householdUp to 5 readers
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Peruvian Traditions
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.
Can my family read too?
Yes. The whole household reads and listens: up to 5 readers, each with their own 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 Peruvian Traditions about?
It is a collection of short tales about Peru, mostly from the colonial period. They feature viceroys, priests, rogues and ordinary people of Lima, told with humor and based on documents, legends and local sayings.
Is Peruvian Traditions a true story?
Not strictly. Palma based many tales on real records and events but added invention and humor. They are best read as historical storytelling, not as exact history.
What is a tradition in Ricardo Palma's work?
A tradition is Palma's own form, a short prose piece that blends history, legend, gossip and wit. It is shorter than a story and lighter than a history, usually centered on one episode or saying.
The author
Ricardo Palma
1833–1919 · Peruvian writer and historian
Ricardo Palma was a Peruvian writer and historian born in Lima in 1833. He wrote the historical prose collection Peruvian Traditions, whose first volume appeared in 1872. He also wrote poetry. He directed Peru’s National Library from 1883 to 1912. He died in Miraflores, near Lima, in 1919.
More like this
Free
Free
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
Popular in short stories
See all
Free
Free
Free
Free
