fromwww.theguardian.com
6 days agoFrom her pen sprang unforgettable females': 16th-century Spanish author's knight's tale given reboot
Sixty years before a gaunt and deluded nobleman from La Mancha was overdosing on tales of derring-do, visiting his madness on those around him and single-handedly rewriting the rules of fiction the deeds of another heroic knight had already made literary history. Though completely eclipsed by Don Quixote, Cristalian de Espana, which was first published in 1545, has a unique claim to fame. Its 800 pages, bristling with swords, sorcerers, dragons and damsels, make up the earliest known work by a female Spanish novelist.
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