The Myth of the Picaro: Continuity and Transformation of the Picaresque Novel, 1554-1954

by Alexander Blackburn

Overview

This critical interpretation of the origins of modern fiction follows the transformation of the picaresque novel over four centuries through the literature of Spain, France, England, Germany, Russia, and the United States. Blackburn uses for the first time the resources of myth criticism to demonstrate how the picaresque masterpieces of the Spanish Golden Age founded a narrative structure that was continued by Defoe, Smollett, Melville, Twain, and Mann.

Originally published in 1979.

A UNC Press Enduring Edition — UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781469619866
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	06/30/2014
Pages:	277
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Professor Blackburn's book states as a matter of fact that the modern novel originates in sixteenth-century Spain and that its earliest form is the picaresque …. He shows how the picaresque novel, while gradually blurring its original 'technical' features as a genre, gains in its subsequent evolution a thematic richness and a structural and symbolic complexity unknown to the early Spanish examples.—Juan Lopez-Morrillas, Novelist

Editorial Reviews

One gets a convincing overview of the development of the genre: the modern novel which originated with Lazarilllo de Tormes arises out of the tension between works of loneliness and disintegration of order on one side, and works of love and communication on the other…. What could only be outlined here is a bold and individualistic attempt to give a total concept to the
picaresque genre with its individual works from the most diversified national literatures. With this work, Blackburn has shown new avenues to all further research in this subject." —Gerhert Hoffmeister, German Quarterly



I consider The Myth of the Picaro one of the very best picaresque studies and one of the few comparative studies which projects an understanding of the Spanish novels.—Edward Friedman, Book Review Editor, Hispania



This is a wise and erudite book, a work of importance for students of the novel, however far their interests may lie from the picaresque.—Andrew Wright, The South Atlantic Quarterly



This is an elegant, learned, and sad book. It masterfully recounts the rise of the picaro from the ruins of medieval Spanish culture to his ascendancy as the quintessential modern literary type.—Ralph C. Wood, Religious Studies Review

From the Publisher