thumb|right|José Francisco de Isla
José Francisco de Isla (24 April 1703 – 2 November 1781) was a Spanish Jesuit, celebrated as a preacher and a humorist and satirist in the style of Miguel de Cervantes.
Biography
De Isla's parents were José Isla de la Torre and Ambrosia Rojo. Although born accidentally in Vidanes (close to Cistierna) in the eastern Leonese mountain, he spent his childhood in the village of Valderas where his mother was a native, in the southern province of Leon. Premature, bright and highly gifted intellectually, he was a compulsive reader from childhood and graduated with his bachiller in law at eleven years old, according to his biographer Jose Ignacio de Salas. He entered the Society of Jesus at sixteen (1719) in the novitiate of Villagarcía de Campos, studying philosophy and theology at the University of Salamanca. At nineteen he translated History of the Emperor Teodosio de Flechier. In collaboration with a teacher, also a Jesuit, Father Luis de Lozada (1681–1748), he wrote La juventud triunfante (Triumphant Youth) (Salamanca, 1727), a description in prose and verse, interspersed with four comedies by unnamed authors, on feasts celebrated, in recognition of the canonization of St. Aloysius Gonzaga and St. Stanislaus Kostka.
Early career
De Isla was a professor of philosophy and theology in Segovia, Santiago de Compostela, Medina del Campo and Pamplona. In Pamplona he translated The Compendium of the History of Spain by Father Duchesne and the Christian Year by Father Jean Croisset, also noted as a preacher in Valladolid and Zaragoza.
His work Triunfo del amor y de la lealtad: dia grande de Navarra was a subtly satirical depiction of the celebrations held at Pamplona to mark the visit of King Ferdinand VI. Initially, the book got an enthusiastic reception from some high-ranking readers - but a scandal broke out when, on closer reading, the real intent, biting and far from flattering, was revealed. De Isla was forced to leave his city and took up the life of an itinerant preacher, where he gained considerable popularity.
The Marquis de la Ensenada recommended him as a confessor of Queen Barbara of Braganza, but he refused. He published under the assumed name of Francisco Lobón de Salazar, benefiting from Aguilar and priest of Villagarcia de Campos. It was during this time that the most important of his works, the first part of Historia del famoso predicador fray Gerundio de Campazas, alias Zotes