Don Quixote

by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, James Baldwin

Genres: Classics; Literary Fiction; Satire

Synopsis

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra - is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. It was originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615. Considered a founding work of Western literature, it is often labelled as the first modern novel and one of the greatest works ever written. Don Quixote is also one of the most-translated books in the world and one of the best-selling novels of all time. Summary For Cervantes and the readers of his day, Don Quixote was a one-volume book published in 1605, divided internally into four parts, not the first part of a two-part set. The mention in the 1605 book of further adventures yet to be told was totally conventional, did not indicate any authorial plans for a continuation, and was not taken seriously by the book's first readers Cervantes, in a metafictional narrative, writes that the first chapters were taken from "the archives of La Mancha", and the rest were translated from an Arabic text by the Moorish historian Cide Hamete Benengeli. Alonso Quixano is an hidalgo nearing 50 years of age who lives in La Mancha with his niece and housekeeper. While he lives a frugal life, as an avid reader of chivalric romances he is full of fantasies about chivalry. Eventually, he goes mad and decides to become a knight errant. To that end, he dons an old suit of armor, renames himself "Don Quixote", names his old workhorse "Rocinante", and designates Aldonza Lorenzo (a slaughterhouse worker with a famed hand for salting pork) his lady love, renaming her Dulcinea del Toboso. As he travels in search of adventure, he arrives at an inn that he believes to be a castle, calls the prostitutes he meets there "ladies", and demands that the innkeeper, whom he takes to be the lord of the castle, dub him a knight. The innkeeper agrees. Quixote starts the night holding vigil at the inn's horse trough, which Quixote imagines to be a chapel. He then becomes involved in a fight with muleteers who try to remove his armor from the horse trough so that they can water their mules. In a pretended ceremony, the innkeeper dubs him a knight to be rid of him and sends him on his way.

Release date: April 5, 2011

Publisher: Signet

Print pages: 1072