Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra was born in Spain in 1547 to a family once proud and influential but now fallen on
hard times. His father, a poor barber-surgeon, wandered up and down Spain in search of work. Educated as a child
by the Jesuits in Seville, the creator of Don Quixote grew up to follow the career of a professional soldier. He
was wounded at Lepanto in 1571, captured by the Turks in 1575, imprisoned for five years, and was finally rescued
by the Trinitarian friars in 1580. On his return to Spain he found his family more impoverished than ever before.
Supporting his mother, two sisters, and an illegitimate daughter, he settled down to a literary career and had
hopes of becoming a successful playwright, but just then the youthful Lope de Vega entered triumphantly to transform
the Spanish theatre by his genius. Galatea, a pastoral romance, was published in 1585, the year of Cervantes' marriage
to Catalina de Palacios y Salazar Vozmediano. But it did not bring him an escape from poverty, and he was forced
to become a roving commissary for the Spanish armada. This venture, which led to bankruptcy and jail, lasted for
fifteen years. Although he never knew prosperity, Cervantes did gain a measure of fame during his lifetime, and
Don Quixote and Sancho Panza were known all over the world. Part I of Don Quixote was published in 1605; in 1613,
his Exemplary Novels appeared, and these picaresque tales of romantic adventure gained immediate popularity. Journey
to Parnassas, a satirical review of his fellow Spanish poets, appeared in 1614, and Part II of Don Quixote in 1615
as well as Eight Plays and Eight Interludes. Miguel de Cervantes died on April 23, 1616, the same day as the death
of Shakespeare--his English contemporary, his only peer.
Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra was born in Spain in 1547 to a family once proud and influential but now fallen on
hard times. His father, a poor barber-surgeon, wandered up and down Spain in search of work. Educated as a child
by the Jesuits in Seville, the creator of Don Quixote grew up to follow the career of a professional soldier. He
was wounded at Lepanto in 1571, captured by the Turks in 1575, imprisoned for five years, and was finally rescued
by the Trinitarian friars in 1580. On his return to Spain he found his family more impoverished than ever before.
Supporting his mother, two sisters, and an illegitimate daughter, he settled down to a literary career and had
hopes of becoming a successful playwright, but just then the youthful Lope de Vega entered triumphantly to transform
the Spanish theatre by his genius. Galatea, a pastoral romance, was published in 1585, the year of Cervantes' marriage
to Catalina de Palacios y Salazar Vozmediano. But it did not bring him an escape from poverty, and he was forced
to become a roving commissary for the Spanish armada. This venture, which led to bankruptcy and jail, lasted for
fifteen years. Although he never knew prosperity, Cervantes did gain a measure of fame during his lifetime, and
Don Quixote and Sancho Panza were known all over the world. Part I of Don Quixote was published in 1605; in 1613,
his Exemplary Novels appeared, and these picaresque tales of romantic adventure gained immediate popularity. Journey
to Parnassas, a satirical review of his fellow Spanish poets, appeared in 1614, and Part II of Don Quixote in 1615
as well as Eight Plays and Eight Interludes. Miguel de Cervantes died on April 23, 1616, the same day as the death
of Shakespeare--his English contemporary, his only peer.
Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra was born in Spain in 1547 to a family once proud and influential but now fallen on
hard times. His father, a poor barber-surgeon, wandered up and down Spain in search of work. Educated as a child
by the Jesuits in Seville, the creator of Don Quixote grew up to follow the career of a professional soldier. He
was wounded at Lepanto in 1571, captured by the Turks in 1575, imprisoned for five years, and was finally rescued
by the Trinitarian friars in 1580. On his return to Spain he found his family more impoverished than ever before.
Supporting his mother, two sisters, and an illegitimate daughter, he settled down to a literary career and had
hopes of becoming a successful playwright, but just then the youthful Lope de Vega entered triumphantly to transform
the Spanish theatre by his genius. Galatea, a pastoral romance, was published in 1585, the year of Cervantes' marriage
to Catalina de Palacios y Salazar Vozmediano. But it did not bring him an escape from poverty, and he was forced
to become a roving commissary for the Spanish armada. This venture, which led to bankruptcy and jail, lasted for
fifteen years. Although he never knew prosperity, Cervantes did gain a measure of fame during his lifetime, and
Don Quixote and Sancho Panza were known all over the world. Part I of Don Quixote was published in 1605; in 1613,
his Exemplary Novels appeared, and these picaresque tales of romantic adventure gained immediate popularity. Journey
to Parnassas, a satirical review of his fellow Spanish poets, appeared in 1614, and Part II of Don Quixote in 1615
as well as Eight Plays and Eight Interludes. Miguel de Cervantes died on April 23, 1616, the same day as the death
of Shakespeare--his English contemporary, his only peer.
Summary
Don Quixote has become so entranced reading tales of chivalry that he decides to turn knight errant himself.
In the company of his faithful squire, Sancho Panza, these exploits blossom in all sorts of wonderful ways. While
Quixote's fancy often leads him astray -- he tilts at windmills, imagining them to be giants -- Sancho acquires
cunning and a certain sagacity. Sane madman and wise fool, they roam the world together-and together they have
haunted readers' imaginations for nearly four hundred years.
With its experimental form and literary playfulness, Don Quixote has been generally recognized as the first modern
novel. This Penguin Classics edition, with its beautiful new cover design, includes John Rutherford's masterly
translation, which does full justice to the energy and wit of Cervantes's prose, as well as a brilliant critical
introduction by Roberto Gonzalez Echevarriá.