Includes bibliographical references (p. [197]-208) and index
Fiction, theatre and morality -- Lies and dissimulation : La verdad sospechosa -- Alarcon’s criticism of satire in Las paredes oyen -- Illusion in magic and drama : La cueva de Salamanca, Quien mal anda en mal acaba, and La prueba de las promesas -- Prudent dissimulation and military virtue in La manganilla de Melilla -- Deceit in politics and Alarcon’s privado plays : La amistad castigada and Ganar amigos.