University of Arizona

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The Flute of the Smoking Mirror

Frances Gillmor (1903-1993) was a folklorist, writer, and educator. She was a professor at the University of Arizona from 1934 to 1973. She is the author of The Flute of the Smoking Mirror. Published in 1949 by the New Mexico Press as The Flute of the Smoking Mirror: A Portrait of Nezahualcoyotl, Poet-King of the Aztecs. Later published in 1968 by the University of Arizona Press.

Original typescript of The Flute of the Smoking Mirror by Frances Gillmor, with holographic corrections and notes. This historical novel relates the social customs of the Aztec people in the area of Lake Texcoco, and the biography of their fifteenth century king, Nezahualcoyotl. His life story from birth to death is related, as are his many contributions as an engineer, codifier of Aztec law, and founder of a commission of arts and letters.