Alemán, Mateo

Alemán, Mateo (mätā`ō älāmän`), 1547–1614?, Spanish novelist, b. Seville. Alemán studied medicine and practiced accounting. He led a turbulent life, was sent to jail twice for his debts, and at the age of 60 found refuge in Mexico. The first part of his picaresque novel, Guzmán de Alfarache, was published in 1599 and the second part in 1604. Written with moralizing overtones, the novel presents a valuable picture of contemporary life and a view of mankind as corrupt but salvable through divine grace. James Mabbe translated it into English as The Rogue; or, The Life of Guzmán de Alfarache (1922).

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Alemán, Mateo

(baptized Sept. 28, 1547, Sevilla, Spain—died c. 1614, Mexico) Spanish novelist. Descended from Jews who had been forcibly converted to Roman Catholicism, he expressed many aspects of the experiences and feelings of the New Christians in 16th-century Spain. His most important literary work is Guzmán de Alfarache (1599, 1604), one of the earliest picaresque novels, which brought him fame throughout Europe but little profit.