Literary History, Censorship, and Lazarillo de Tormes castigado (1573)

By focusing on the interrelated topics of literary history, book censorship, and book history, the article examines the relative neglect of Lazarillo de Tormes castigado (1573) in literary studies. It argues that the expurgated Lazarillo is an important 'missing' part of the history of Lazarillo de Tormes (1554), and sets out to unearth the silences, gaps, and omissions that prevail around the censored text in the study and history of this canonical work. Acknowledging and understanding the relative 'silencing' of Lazarillo castigado (1573) in Lazarillo studies redresses a significant lacuna in the editorial, reception, and cultural history of the work. It also offers and establishes for readers a fruitful reciprocity for reinterpreting the 1554 Lazarillo and for reading the Lazarillo castigado.