Tirso de Molina

"Generally credited as the creator of Don Juan, one of the most famous characters in literature, Tirso de Molina (1580-1648) is largely unknown to English readers. An author of the Spanish Golden Age, Tirso left his own mark. This book presents three of his best known works, never before translated in one collection"--

Set in Italy during the reign of King Ferdinand I of Naples, at the time that the Count of Anjou was waging war against Naples, this is the story of Matilde, the daughter of the Prince of Salerno, and Rugero, his nephew, as they fight for possession of the Prince's kingdom after his death, with assorted friends, enemies, and strangers becoming entangled in their plotting.

Blending seventeenth-century Spanish revenge drama with a strange episode from the Old Testament, The Rape of Tamar tells the story of the incestuous rape of Tamar by her half-brother Amnon.

Esta es la primera obra donde aparece el legendario burlador de la fe y de las mujeres, Don Juan, que conjuntamente con el Quijote son los héroes de la literatura clásica española más universales y populares. El don Juan de Tirso que seduce a doña Isabela haciéndose pasar por su marido, inspiró posteriormente a otros autores como Moliere, Verdi o Zorrilla. Sin embargo, este don Juan original, padre de todos los demás, es curiosamente el menos conocido.

Tirso de Molina exhibits his best comedic abilities, wisely combining doses of love, ingenuity, sensuality and entanglements. In El castigo de penseque, Don Rodrigo's "punishment" for allowing the ruse of mistaken identitiy to continue is the loss of the affections of both women in the love triangle. In Quien calla, otorga, Tirso de Molina redeems Don Rodrigo as a gentleman and he finally gets the girl.