A late edition of probably the most famous and influential work in Spanish literature, after Don Quixote. The first known edition appeared anonymously at Burgos in 1499. Entitled Comedia de Calisto y Melibea it contained sixteen acts, each preceded by an 'argumento'. Another version of the text appeared in Toledo (1500) and Seville (1501), with the addition of a letter entitled Del autor a un amigo, some acrostic verses, the incipit, and three stanzas written by the corrector Alonso de Proaza. In 1502 five further edtions appeared containing five new acts, inserted in the fourteenth act of the original. A further act was added in 1526.

The author was born at Puebla de Montalván (province of Toledo) in 1476, and died in 1541. He became alcalde mayor at Talavera. His Jewish parents had been forcibly converted and it has been argued that La Celestina is a roman-ŕ-clef on the conversos in Spain.

The legend of the Infantes of Lara, who lived in the tenth century, relates how these seven brothers were betrayed by their uncle and slain by the Moors but were afterwards avenged by their half-brother, the Bastard Mudarra, son of the Lord of Lara and a Moorish lady. In view of its semi-legendary nature it ranks as a romance of chivalry, though many of the facts were recorded in the Cronica general.

The illustrations, which are proofs before letters, are from the collection of Sir Peter Lely.

Quevedo, arguably the greatest and most prolific writer that Spain has produced, was born in Madrid in 1580 of a noble family. He studied at Alcalá and became one of the most learned Spaniards of his day. He took service with the Duque de Osuna in Sicily and Naples but when Osuna fell in 1620, Quevedo was banished. He was restored to favour on the accession of Philip IV in 1621, but eventually incurred the enmity of the Conde Duque de Olivares and was imprisoned in 1639. He was released in 1643 but his health was broken and he died in 1645. His works can be classified as philosophical, ascetic, political, critical, satirical, and poetical, while he also contributed one picaresque novel, Historia de la Vida del Buscon, and several satrical works to the literature of Spain.

This is a copy of the first edition of Part II of Don Quixote. The second part appeared in 1615, following the publication of a spurious sequel published under the pseudonym of Alonso Fernández de Avellaneda in 1614. An even greater success, Cervantes continued to explore the processes of composition in the narrative: ironic self-referential touches include key characters in Part II having read Part I, while Don Quixote himself leafs through the 'false' second part of his own adventures in a visit to a printing shop.

This publication contains twelve short stories which variously explore the concepts of narrative realism and idealism. Along with Don Quixote, this is the work upon which Cervantes' literary fame rests. Although not collected together and printed until 1613, the stories were composed over a span of years, the earliest - El licenciado Vidriera - dating from about 1597. 'I am the first,' wrote Cervantes, 'to write novelas in the Castilian tongue, for the many which here circulate in print are all translated from foreign tongues.'

One of the disappointments of Cervantes' life was his inability to win fame as a dramatist. His chief period of productivity as a writer for the stage lies between the years 1583 and 1587 when some twenty of his plays were performed with relative success. But with the dramatic début of Lope de Vega, Cervantes' old fashioned methods lost favour and he could no longer find managers who would put on his plays. It was not until 1615 that Cervantes accepted an offer from Juan de Villarroel to publish the eight best plays.

The Entremeses are much more successful than the Comedias. Cervantes could create character and write sparkling dialogue, but he was unable to sustain dramatic tension for any length cf time, nor could he develop a plot logically. But in these short satirical sketches where character and witty dialogue are more important than plot he succeeds brilliantly.

Ladino dramatic literature appeared as a new genre at the close of the nineteenth century, largely developed around Jewish themes, in contrast to the more enlightened complexion of general literary activity in the language. Yakim Behar was one of a small group of writers who distinguished themselves.