Henry W. Sullivan, Jane W. Albrecht, The Life of Tirso de Molina (Fray Gabriel Jusepe Téllez) (1579-1648). Kassel, Edition Reichenberger, 2024; xviii, 478 pp. Hardcover; inglés.
(Estudios de Literatura 151)

ISBN: 978-3-967280-63-0 | 90,- €

Fray Gabriel Téllez, the playwright known to the world as Tirso de Molina, was born in Madrid in 1579 and died in Almazán, Soria, in 1648. Tirso’s biography was obscure until Luis Vázquez Fernández, O.M., unearthed many valuable details that had lain buried for centuries, which document Tirso’s whereabouts from cradle to grave and sketch the contours of his long, productive life. Although Vázquez provided the outlines of Tirso’s many and sundry involvements, achievements and experiences, the biography of one of the greatest dramatists ever to write in Spanish deserves to be revealed and reconstructed much more completely. 

Henry W. Sullivan and Jane W. Albrecht now fill this lacuna in the cultural history of Spain and European drama, exploring Tirso’s complex identity as a renowned author, tireless Mercedarian, bold traveler, beloved son and brother, steadfast friend and fearless foe.  They survey his life’s foundations in the home of his parents, Portuguese refuges living and serving in a noble house in Madrid, and wider kinship network; his cultural edification among the wealthy Madrid elite, maturation and formal education; and his religious vocation devoted to the Order of Mercy and parallel, dazzling professional career dedicated to delighting and teaching the audiences of corrales and private theatrical spaces. In addition, Sullivan and Albrecht confront a number of mysteries that make Tirso such a singular author and eventually converge on answers to several points at issue. Where did his faculty for language come from? What led to his decision to profess in the Order of Mercy?  Why did Fray Gabriel Téllez, the only Golden-Age figure who wrote under a pseudonym, adopt the unique nom de plume Tirso de Molina?  And, how could he write so stridently about all manner of sexual situations and impulses?  

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Figures

Preface & Acknowledgments

1. The Birth of Gabriel Téllez in Madrid & His Baptism on March 29, 1579

2. Fray Gabriel Téllez’s Order of Mercy

3. Why did Tirso de Molina Call Himself Tirso de Molina?

4. The Mechanics & Poetics of Tirso’s Dramatic Production (1606-1631)

5. The Mission to Santo Domingo, 1616-1618

6. The Second Defenestration of Prague, May 23, 1618 & Tirso’s El celoso prudente

7. The Reign of Philip III (1598-1621) & the Successor Regime of the Count-Duke of Olivares

8. Tirso’s Condemnation by the Junta de Reformación, March 6, 1625

9. Tirso at the Crossroads of His Career, 1625-1626

10. Téllez’s Wider Kinship Network, Its Converso Origins, & The Playwright’s Six Theories of Love

11. Tirso as Prior of the Convent of Trujillo (Cáceres), 1626-1629 & the Pizarro Trilogy

12. Téllez’s Literary Battles with Contemporaries & the Death of his Elder Sister (1630)

13. The First Edition of El burlador de Sevilla (1630)

14. Maestro Téllez’s General History of the Order of Our Lady of Mercy, 1632-1639

15. The Controversies Surrounding Tirso’s Nephew, Francisco Lucas de Ávila (1605?-after 1652)

16. Tirso’s Last Play & His Tribute to Portugal, Las Quinas de Portugal (March 8, 1638)

17. The Revolt of Catalonia (1640) & Tirso’s Confinement in Cuenca

18. Prior of the Convent of Soria, 1645-1647

19. The Last Days of Tirso de Molina & His Death in Almazán, circa February 20, 1648

20. General Conclusion

Index