Lazarillo de Tormes

Spanish novel

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June 30, 2026

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La vida de Lazarillo de Tormes y de sus fortunas y adversidades, commonly known as Lazarillo de Tormes, is a Spanish novel published in 1554 by an anonymous author. It is considered the first picaresque novel.1

The story follows Lazarillo, a shrewd and ironic protagonist from a low social standing. He navigates a series of adventures by relying on his wits and occasional dishonesty, encountering various characters of higher social classes. The novel's structure and its focus on a wandering rogue character are hallmarks of the picaresque genre.2

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4 Britannica Sources

Lazarillo de Tormes
What is a picaresque novel?
Tirso de Molina
Spanish literature - The 14th century

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- Spain
  Spain’s Golden Age in literature
  Thus, the hidalgo in the Lazarillo de Tormes (published 1554; doubtfully attributed to Diego Hurtado de Mendoza), the first of the picaresque novels, is down and out but would rather starve than work, and he expects his servant, the boy Lazarillo, to scrounge for them both. In Don Quixote (published…
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  Thus, the hidalgo in the Lazarillo de Tormes (published 1554; doubtfully attributed to Diego Hurtado de Mendoza), the first of the picaresque novels, is down and out but would rather starve than work, and he expects his servant, the boy Lazarillo, to scrounge for them both. In Don Quixote (published…
  Read More
- hidalgo
  …in the anonymous picaresque novel Lazarillo de Tormes and in Cervantes’ Don Quixote.
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  …in the anonymous picaresque novel Lazarillo de Tormes and in Cervantes’ Don Quixote.
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picaresque novel
…novel originated in Spain with Lazarillo de Tormes (1554; doubtfully attributed to Diego Hurtado de Mendoza), in which the poor boy Lázaro describes his services under seven successive lay and clerical masters, each of whose dubious character is hidden under a mask of hypocrisy. The irreverent wit of Lazarillo helped…
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…novel originated in Spain with Lazarillo de Tormes (1554; doubtfully attributed to Diego Hurtado de Mendoza), in which the poor boy Lázaro describes his services under seven successive lay and clerical masters, each of whose dubious character is hidden under a mask of hypocrisy. The irreverent wit of Lazarillo helped…
Read More
Spanish literature
The novel
…genre initiated with the anonymous Lazarillo de Tormes (1554). This native Spanish genre, widely imitated elsewhere, featured as its protagonist a pícaro (“rogue”), essentially an antihero, living by his wits and concerned only with staying alive. Passing from master to master, he depicted life from underneath. Significant for guiding fiction…
Read More
…genre initiated with the anonymous Lazarillo de Tormes (1554). This native Spanish genre, widely imitated elsewhere, featured as its protagonist a pícaro (“rogue”), essentially an antihero, living by his wits and concerned only with staying alive. Passing from master to master, he depicted life from underneath. Significant for guiding fiction…
Read More