Love and the Incredibly Old Man: A Novel

240 Pages·2008·0.82 MB·English

by  Lee Siegel

love and the incredibly old man

a novel
the university of chicago press
Chicago and London
lee siegel is the author of fi ve previous books published by the
University of Chicago Press, including Love in a Dead Language (1999),
and Who Wrote the Book of Love? (2005). He is currently professor of reli-
gion at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2008 by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved. Published 2008
Printed in the United States of America
17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 1 2 3 4 5
isbn- 13: 978- 0- 226- 75705- 6 (cloth)
isbn- 10: 0- 226- 75705- 6 (cloth)
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Siegel, Lee, 1945–
Love and the incredibly old man : a novel / Lee Siegel.
p. cm.
isbn- 13: 978- 0- 226- 75705- 6 (cloth : alk. paper)
isbn- 10: 0- 226- 75705- 6 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Ponce de León, Juan, 1460?–1521—Fiction. I. Title.
ps3569.i377l67 2008
813'.54—dc22
2007043188
o The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements
of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Perma-
nence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ansi z39.48- 1992.
Ponce de León wanted his autobiography dedicated to Isabel:
¡Cuán dulces son tus caricias, oh hermana y novia mía!
Un jardín cerrado es mi hermana y novia, un manantial sellado,
una fuente de vida deliciosa.
With those very sentiments, my story is for Elizabeth.

Whenever the name of the fi rst European to set foot on what is now
the continental United States of America is mentioned, it is usually as
a synonym for man’s vanity and folly. Juan Ponce de León is most often
remembered as a harebrained old bu∏oon who was gulled by fanciful
myths and legends into a hopeless quest for a so-c alled Fountain of Youth.
Although the actual deeds and accomplishments of the Spanish explorer
are shrouded in the mists of history, we will try in this book, so much as it
is possible, to separate fi ction from truth.
leo gaviota, The True Story of Juan Ponce de León and
the Fountain of Youth

Contents
Preface · 2005
an introduction to juan ponce de león
1
Chapter One · 1465–1493
wherein ponce de león, after his childhood, boyhood,
and youth in spain, is dispatched by queen ysabel to
the indies in search of a fountain of youth
17
Chapter Two · 1493–1513
wherein ponce de león settles in the new world,
becomes governor of higuey and of borinquen, invents
cigars and rum, and discovers popcorn and florida
47
Chapter Three · 1513
wherein ponce de león happens upon the garden
of eden, discovers within it the fountain of life, and
devises a plot by which to keep it secret
69