Juan José Martí facts for kids

Juan José Martí (born around 1570 – died December 22, 1604) was a Spanish writer. He was born in Orihuela, a town in the Province of Alicante, Spain. He studied law at the University of Valencia and became a doctor of law in 1598. He also worked as a law examiner at the university for six years. Martí passed away in Valencia and was buried there in Valencia Cathedral.

Martí's Writing and Rivalry

Juan José Martí was part of a writing group in Valencia called the Academia de los Nocturnos, where he used the pen name "Atrevimiento" (which means "Daring"). However, he is most famous for another pen name, Mateo Luján de Sayavedra.

The Fake Sequel to Guzmán de Alfarache

Under the name Mateo Luján de Sayavedra, Martí wrote a book in 1602 that was a "continuation" of a very popular novel called Guzmán de Alfarache. The original novel was written by Mateo Alemán. Martí managed to get hold of Alemán's unfinished notes and used some of his ideas. This was a bit sneaky, and Alemán later wrote in his own real sequel (published in 1604) about how much he "envied" Martí's ideas, which was a polite way of saying he knew Martí had copied him.

Martí's book was clever, but because of how it was created, it wasn't very well-received. Many people suspected that the best parts of his book weren't original ideas but were taken from Alemán.

Not the Author of the Don Quixote Sequel

Some people have wondered if Juan José Martí was the same person as Alonso Fernández de Avellaneda, who wrote a fake sequel to Don Quixote in 1614. However, this isn't possible. Juan José Martí died in 1604, which was before the first part of the real Don Quixote was even published in 1605. So, he couldn't have written a sequel to it.

See also

• In Spanish: Juan Martí (escritor) para niños