In 1764-65 the irrepressible playwright Beaumarchais traveled to Madrid, where he immersed himself in the life and society of the day. Inspired by the places he had seen and the people he had met, Beaumarchais returned home to create "The Barber of Seville "and "The Marriage of Figaro," plays that became the basis for the operas by Rossini and Mozart that continue to delight audiences today. This book is a lively and original account of Beaumarchais s visit to Madrid (he never went to Seville) and a re-creation of the society that fired his imagination.