Miguel De Cervantes

This Colorful Illustrated Edition of the Classic novel follows the adventures of Alonso Quijano, who reads too many chivalric novels, and sets out to revive chivalry under the name of Don Quixote. He recruits a simple farmer, Sancho Panza, as his squire, who frequently deals with Don Quixote's rhetorical orations on antiquated knighthood with a unique Earthy wit. He is met by the world as it is, initiating themes like intertextuality, realism, metatheatre and literary representation. Published in two volumes a decade apart, in 1605 and 1615, Don Quixote is considered the most influential work of literature from the Spanish Golden Age and the entire Spanish literary canon. As a founding work of modern Western literature, and one of the earliest canonical novels, it regularly appears high on lists of the greatest works of fiction ever published. In one such list, Don Quixote was cited as the "best literary work ever written". Widely regarded as one of the funniest and most tragic books ever written, Don Quixote chronicles the adventures of the self-created knight-errant Don Quixote of La Mancha and his faithful squire, Sancho Panza, as they travel through sixteenth-century Spain. You haven't experienced Don Quixote in English until you've read this complete masterful translation full of colorful illustrated scenes that makes the book a classic read for the young and the young at heart. Miguel de Cervantes was born on September 29, 1547, in Alcala de Henares, Spain. At twenty-three he enlisted in the Spanish militia and in 1571 fought against the Turks in the battle of Lepanto, where a gunshot wound permanently crippled his left hand. He spent four more years at sea and then another five as a slave after being captured by Barbary pirates. Ransomed by his family, he returned to Madrid but his disability hampered him; it was in debtor's prison that he began to write Don Quixote. Cervantes wrote many other works, including poems and plays, but he remains best known as the author of Don Quixote. He died on April 23, 1616.

Don Quixote is one of the great masterpieces of world literature, and a rollicking, profoundly instructive adventure story in the bargain. The first great European novel, its theme of the superannuated knight setting out on his rickety horse to put a wicked world to rights, is as touching and timely today as ever it has been. Along the rocky road that leads to the truth about everything, the deluded don and his reluctant squire Sancho Panza reveal themselves as the best comic duo of them all. As brightly as it first did in 1605, Cervantes' immortal tale shines across the centuries to remind us that good intentions should always pave the way, and never mind the consequences.

Published in two volumes a decade apart, in 1605 and 1615, Don Quixote is considered the most influential work of literature from the Spanish Golden Age and the entire Spanish literary canon. As a founding work of modern Western literature, and one of the earliest canonical novels, it regularly appears high on lists of the greatest works of fiction ever published. In one such list, Don Quixote was cited as the "best literary work ever written". -wikipedia

In a sleepy village, a retired gentleman is consumed with tales of chivalry. Seeing no impediments, such as logic, propriety or sanity, to fulfilling his dreams, this would-be hero reinvents himself as the Knight-Errant, Don Quixote. He sets out across the arid open country in search of adventures accompanied only his dim-witted squire, Sancho Panza.

From Publishers Weekly There would seem to be little reason for yet another translation of Don Quixote. Translated into English some 20 times since the novel appeared in two parts in 1605 and 1615, and at least five times in the last half-century, it is currently available in multiple editions (the most recent is the 1999 Norton Critical Edition translated by Burton Raffel). Yet Grossman bravely attempts a fresh rendition of the adventures of the intrepid knight Don Quixote and his humble squire Sancho Panza. As the respected translator of many of Latin America's finest writers (among them Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Carlos Fuentes and Mario Vargas Llosa), she is well suited to the task, and her translation is admirably readable and consistent while managing to retain the vigor, sly humor and colloquial playfulness of the Spanish. Erring on the side of the literal, she isn't afraid to turn out clunky sentences; what she loses in smoothness and elegance she gains in vitality. The text is free of archaisms the contemporary reader will rarely stumble over a word and the footnotes (though rather erratically supplied) are generally helpful. Her version easily bests Raffel's ambitious but eccentric and uneven effort, and though it may not immediately supplant standard translations by J. M. Cohen, Samuel Putnam and Walter Starkie, it should give them a run for their money. Against the odds, Grossman has given us an honest, robust and freshly revelatory Quixote for our times. Copyright (c) Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Jeder kennt Don Quijote, den Ritter, und seinen weltklugen Knappen, Sancho Panza. Wortreich und wunderbar absurd sind die Gespräche, in denen die beiden Helden streiten und philosophieren, während sie sich von ihren Blessuren kurieren. Zweihundert Jahre nach Ludwig Tieck, der den "Don Quijote" zum entscheidenden Werk der Romantik machte, erhält der Klassiker mit Susanne Langes Neuübersetzung nun auch im Deutschen die sprachliche Dimension, die er im Original besitzt. In einem reichhaltigen Anhang wird das Goldene Zeitalter in Spanien beleuchtet, werden biographische und geschichtliche Hintergründe aufgezeigt sowie die jüngsten Erkenntnisse der Quijote-Forschung mitgeteilt.

"Follow the dramatic tale of the ingenious gentleman of La Mancha, Don Quixote, and his comic adventures over land, sea and air in the search for an idealised world. Accompanied by his loyal sidekick, Sancho Panza, and inspired by stories of daring deeds, Don Quixote sets out to recreate an imaginary world and to convince his family, friends, and all he meets of its reality. But this is no ordinary journey as he gallops through Seventeenth Century Spain, encountering a host of fantastical characters including star-crossed lovers, an army of giants, a cross-dressing priest, a royal duchess and even the devil himself."

Zu Recht gilt der "Don Quijote" als der erste moderne Roman. Sein Umfang indessen - weit über 1000 Seiten - macht den Zugang nicht einfach, zumal, wenn man ihn im Original lesen will. Die Auswahl, die der renommierte Hispanist Hans-Jörg Neuschäfer zusammengestellt hat, bietet etwa ein Viertel des Originaltextes mit ausführlichen Lesehilfen.

"The plot of this play revolves around a lovable trickster who aims to be helpful in order to be liked. His journey to find his identity ends with him finding his true vocation on the stage. Pedro, The Great Pretender opened at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in September 2004."

TRANSLATED BY EDITH GROSSMANWidely regarded as the world's first modern novel, and one of the funniest and most tragic books ever written, Don Quixote chronicles the famous picaresque adventures of the noble knight-errant Don Quixote de La Mancha and his faithful squire, Sancho Panza, as they travel through sixteenth-century Spain.