Author: Fernando de Rojas
- Poetry / Essay
- Penguin Classics
- ISBN: 978-0143106098
- Release Date: 01-01-1970
-Reviewed by: Eduardo de Lamadrid

This dramatized novel is considered by critics second only to Don Quixote in intrinsic greatness and literary influence. The plot deals with the love of Calisto for Melibea, whose initial indifference promtos him to engage the services of a go-between, who deviously persuades the girl to respond to her lover's suit. It ends tragically with the death of both lovers. The greatness of the novel lies in its realistic delineation of character. The crone, Celestina, a panderess of titanic cunning, is depicted as evil incarnate. Other characters such as the picaresque servants, the prostitutes, the braggart soldiers etc. present a vivid pictue of life among the common people of early 16th century Spain. Even Calisto, with his flowery diction and his abject adoration, is a faithful portrayal of the Petrarcan lover of the day.