Original title: El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha
Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616), trans. John Ormsby
Cervantes's immortal comic novel, widely regarded as the first modern novel. A poor country gentleman reads himself mad on chivalric romances, renames himself Don Quixote, and sallies forth with his squire Sancho Panza to revive knight-errantry: he mistakes windmills for giants, flocks for armies and inns for castles, winning beatings and glory in equal measure. Behind the comedy lies a moving portrait of the idealist in a prosaic world — at once a satire of chivalric romance and an elegy for the dreaming spirit. This edition uses John Ormsby's translation.
Text sourced from Project Gutenberg (public domain in the United States); the Project Gutenberg trademark and license text have been removed on import. Public-domain status determined by the author's death year + 50 years rule.