Category Archives: Siglo XV

New Accolade for The Abencerraje

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Top 20The Abencerraje: A New Translation has been a hit since it was first published a year ago. Within a month of release, it attained Top 20 status on the Amazon Literary Fiction list. More importantly, it also received high praise in unsolicited reviews from sensitive wordsmiths who love history.

Now, the greatest compliment imaginable: the dual language soft cover version has been adopted as a textbook for a course this autumn at Sarah Lawrence College.

The footnotes in the English version were created with university students in mind, so I’m thrilled to have a chance to see whether they work for this audience. I’m open to any suggestions professors or instructors have after using the book in a classroom setting. I’d love to make this translation a useful and attractive book that garners even more readers for this enchanting tale.

Thank you very much to Prof. Esther Fernández and the bookstore at Sarah Lawrence.

Other Spanish departments, take note!

Consejos acerca de las relaciones amorosas — medievales

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La fama moderna del Arcipreste de Talavera, llamado Corbacho en imitación de la obra de Boccaccio, viene de su fuerte prejuicio en contra del género femenino. No queremos sugerir ni siquiera que sea posible seguir los preceptos descritos aquí. Queremos ofrecer este libro para que el lector vea cuán lejos hemos llegado.

Hace falta leer este libro para entender el amor, el sexo, la medicina, la filosofía y la literatura del siglo XV. Es imprescindible para entender cómo pensaban los hombres medievales. Adjunta todo el saber de su época para abogar por la moralidad y el libre albedrío.

Tampoco debemos olvidar lo feo del pasado, para mejor evitar repetirlo. Al final, los ejemplos que da el arcipreste divierten mucho y su manera de dividir el mundo en diferentes compartimientos te fascinará. Lee este libro y la Celestina tendrá muchísimo más sentido.

Esta edición cuidadosamente corregida contiene:

• El texto modernizado para mejor comprensión

• Notas para el estudio que no son disponibles en otro lugar

Kindle | Kindle España | Nook | Kobo

The Abencerrraje, finally for epub readers

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We’re terribly sorry to have kept you waiting! You’ll be relieved to know that The Abencerraje: A New Translation, which has had such phenomenal success as a Kindle book, is now available for your epub reading pleasure from both your friendly Barnes and Noble and the fine people at Kobo. Endorsed by three arbiters of good taste, this affordable ebook (or paperback) is sure to entertain and maybe edify, too.

To refresh your memory, we present the blurb:

A heartwarming tale of love and friendship in a time when no one could imagine anything but war.

This is a classic story of the exotic landscape of medieval Spain, written about 1551, in a new, easy to read English translation.

Abindarráez is so in love with beautiful Jarifa that when he is taken prisoner by Rodrigo de Narváez, he asks to be freed for only two days so that he can marry her. What happens next shows that love and friendship are stronger than war, even during the final stages of the the Reconquest of Spain.

The translation tries to transmit all the meaning and charm of the original while untangling its complex syntax. Don’t miss the opportunity to read this enchanting book in English!

This edition includes:
• A never-before-published translation of El Abencerraje
• Useful explanatory notes
• A short, original introductory essay

And remember, in the paperback you get both the original Spanish and the new English translation, complete with useful explanatory notes. Thank you for your patience!

Kindle | Kindle España | Nook | Kobo | paperback

Meditaciones sobre la lengua

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¿Te has preguntado alguna vez cómo vino a ser el idioma castellano como es? Presentamos un documento divertido y muy curioso y contestará todas tus preguntas con cierto humor que no se encontrará en los libros de texto modernos.

Los amigos italianos del erudito Juan de Valdés no cesan de preguntarle cómo expresarse bien en la lengua castellana, que era el idioma más culto a mediados del siglo XVI. Un día se sienta con ellos y contesta todas sus preguntas, instruyéndoles en la historia de la lengua, su gramática y ortografía y los vocablos destacados según el uso corriente que dicta las normas. Critica los escritores contemporáneos y de los siglos anteriores que reconocerás. Sé parte de esta conversación histórica y atestigua cuáles reglas descritas por el buen doctor se pueden aplicar también hoy — y cuáles no. Este libro es también un tesoro para el estudiante de los refranes populares, que sirven de ejemplo una y otra vez.

Esta edición incluye:
• El texto completo modernizado
• Notas para el estudio no disponibles en otro lugar

Kindle | Kinde España | Nook | Kobo

El/The Abencerraje: Ahora en tapa blanda — Now in Paperback

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Nuestra traducción al inglés de “El Abencerraje” ha triunfado en formato digital, tanto que ahora ofrecemos una edición bilingüe en tapa blanda. Tiene todo el contenido de las ediciones digitales en español e inglés. Ahora los que no tengan dispositivos para leer libros electrónicos o que simplemente quieren tener su literatura entre sus manos, pueden comprarlo aquí o bien pedirlo en su tienda o biblioteca favorita. ¡Que disfruten!

Our recent translation of “The Abencerraje” has done so well in digital formats that now we’ve decided to offer a bilingual edition in paperback. Anyone who doesn’t have an e-reader, or who just wants to hold a piece of literature in his or her hands, can now get it here — or ask for it at your favorite library or bookstore. It has the same content as the English and Spanish digital editions combined. Enjoy!

It’s still available in Kindle in English and in Spanish in Nook and Kobo as well. Three reviews by readers of excellent taste, all four and five stars! Kudos from Kim Rednfeld, author of The Cross and the Dragon, include “Translator Jessica Knauss does a great job in making the story accessible to modern readers yet giving it a feel of another time and place. Many thanks to her for bringing it to a modern English-speaking audience.”

Don’t forget, Amazon Prime members, you can still borrow this book for FREE through August 22!

Sigue siendo disponible en Kindle en inglés y en Kindle, Nook y Kobo en el español original.

Kindle in English | Kindle en español | Kindle España | Nook | Kobo

See the trailer here. Ver el vídeo para la versión inglesa.

Sale! ¡Rebajas!

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At Acedrex, we always strive to provide our readers with the highest quality reading at the lowest possible prices. Market research indicates that our prices may in fact not be optimal for competing in the marketplace.

The following titles will have extremely low prices through Friday, when they’ll go up by at least a dollar as part of the market research. Please plan accordingly. Thank you for your support.

Nuestros precios siempre han sido muy generosos al mismo tiempo que hemos proveído los mejores libros. Hemos llegado a cuestionar esta estrategia. Los siguientes libros tendrán precios bajísimos hasta el viernes, cuando subirán por el valor de un dólar, como parte de un experimento de marketing. Gracias por su apoyo.

Historia de la célebre reina doña Juana de España vulgarmente llamada “la Loca” Kindle US | Kindle España | Nook | Kobo

Cinco novelas de Juan Valera Kindle US | Kindle España | Nook | Kobo

Threads Woven by Jessica Knauss Kindle  | Nook | Kobo

Sail to Italy and Sail From Italy by Jessica Knauss Kindle  | Nook | Kobo

Dusk Before Dawn by Jessica Knauss Kindle | Nook | Kobo

 

The Abencerraje Now a Top 20 Bestseller

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The free promotion for the Kindle edition of The Abencerraje: A New Translation was a raging success. The book has garnered the honor of becoming an Amazon top 20 bestseller in literary fiction. It’s well reviewed, but the paperback version is coming soon and we’ll need more quotes for the back cover. Please get your review up on Amazon before Friday, July 6 for full consideration.

Amazon Prime members can still borrow the book for free! Please, Amazon prime members, wherever you are, borrow this book for free and help out a struggling American hardworking publisher. I will be forever grateful.

And, if you missed the free promotion, never fear! You can still get this enchanting book for only 99 cents! Act fast, however! In a desperate bid to recoup costs after the promotion, we find ourselves with no other choice: the price will go up drastically on July 7. Thank you for your support.

Many other wonderful books in both English and Spanish are coming your way from Açedrex soon…

The Abencerraje, Free This Week

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The days you’ve been waiting for have arrived! The Abencerraje is now free for Kindle through this Friday. See the original publication announcement here. The Abencerraje is now endorsed by two men of distinguished tastes, Stan Coombs and Seymour Hamilton. Please get your free Kindle version here and tell every history lover you know to get theirs!

Amazon Prime Members, please help us out and keep the good books coming in by borrowing this book through August 22. It’s no cost to you and it supports us in more ways than we can say.

The Abencerraje will soon appear in a paperback dual language edition — your review could end up on the cover! Write one today.

El Abencerraje pronto se hará disponible en una edición bilingüe de tapa blanda y tu opinión puede aparecer en la cubierta. Escribe una reseña de cualquiera de las ediciones digitales hoy.

Trailer

Trotaconventos en la era digital

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¡Mala landre me mate si no te gusta este libro!

La Tragicomedia de Calisto y Melibea es la obra más romántica y a la misma vez más ironizante de la Edad Media. Una simple historia de amor fracasado se convierte en intrigas, hechizos, robos y asesinatos cuando los “bellacos” sirvientes de Calisto sugieren que busque los servicios de la corrupta alcahueta Celestina. Los personajes recitan poesía y hacen el amor, pero por otro lado también violan, confabulan y matan. Son casi tan complicados como los seres humanos.

Hemos modernizado la ortografía para no impedir el disfrute del lector, pero no en vano pasan los siglos. Hemos preservado palabras que dan un toque decisivamente medieval porque de otra manera no se entendería igual. A veces parecerá inconsistente (e. g., a veces es “aucto” y otras es “auto”). Los escritores medievales no se preocupaban de estos detalles.

Esta edición incluye:
• El texto modernizado de toda la tragicomedia (21 actos)
• Notas para el estudio no disponibles en otra parte con resúmenes tanto de la obra como de dos artículos críticos importantes

Kindle | Kindle España | Nook | Kobo

Love and Friendship in Times of War

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This translation has been in the works for an entire year, in spite of its short length. We’re proud to present it to you in Kindle now, with a dual language paperback soon to follow and epub versions later this year.

Please see the first book trailer here.

A heartwarming tale of love and friendship in a time when no one could imagine anything but war.

This is a classic story of the exotic landscape of medieval Spain, written about 1551, in a new, easy to read English translation. Abindarráez is so in love with beautiful Jarifa that when he is taken prisoner by Rodrigo de Narváez, he asks to be freed for only two days so that he can marry her. What happens next shows that love and friendship are stronger than war, even during the final stages of the the Reconquest of Spain.

This edition includes:
• A never-before-published translation of El Abencerraje
• Useful explanatory notes
• A short, original introductory essay

The translation tries to transmit all the meaning and charm of the original while untangling its complex syntax. Don’t miss the opportunity to read this enchanting book in English!

Endorsed by Independent Judge of Niceness Stanley Coombs.

This book is participating in the Kindle Select promotions, so please borrow it. It’s no cost to you! It will also become free to everyone on selected days during the next three months, so watch for those announcements.

Otherwise, get it at the most reasonable price possible any time: Kindle | Kindle UK | Kindle España | Kindle Deutschland | Kindle France | Kindle Italia