A Chronicle.
Spain is in peril - at war with the Dutch and the English - and worse - a giant serpent is loose in the land, a crack in the street leaks sulphur straight from hell, and witches of uncertain gender ride their brooms across the night sky. The Inquisitor-General convenes his priestly council - the earnest Capuchin, the errant Jesuit and Father Rivadesella, who talks daily with the devil. Satan, it seems, is good company; polite, rational and, though he says it himself, second in intelligence only to God. The cause of such wonders? The king has lain with a whore, and he has asked to see his wife naked!
Torrente Ballester, a varied and prolific talent, is one of Spain's major novelists.
This is the only edition available, with introduction, notes, bibliography and chronology of Torrente Ballester's life and times.