Don Quixote is a novel by Miguel de Cervantes published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615. A country gentleman who has read too many tales of chivalry decides to become a knight errant and sets out on adventures with his squire, Sancho Panza. It is often called the first modern novel.
The story
Alonso Quixano renames himself Don Quixote de la Mancha, chooses a peasant girl as his lady, Dulcinea del Toboso, and rides out on his old horse Rocinante.
He mistakes windmills for giants and inns for castles. Sancho Panza, a practical peasant, follows him in hope of governing an island.
Two parts
The first part was an immediate success. In 1614 an unknown writer using the name Avellaneda published a false sequel.
In his own second part, Cervantes has his characters read the first part and mock the false one, an astonishing literary game.
A book about books
The novel parodies the romances of chivalry, but it is above all about the power of reading and the gap between dreams and reality.
The pair of the idealist knight and the down-to-earth squire became one of the great myths of European culture.
Anecdotes
An Arabic historian
Cervantes claims that the story was written by an Arab historian, Cide Hamete Benengeli, and that he merely had it translated. This invented author is one of the novel's great inventions.
The same day as Shakespeare?
Cervantes died on 22 April 1616 and was buried on the 23rd, a date often linked to Shakespeare's death. But Spain and England used different calendars.
Frequently asked questions
When was Don Quixote published?
In 1605 and 1615.
Who is Sancho Panza?
Don Quixote's squire.
What is the name of Don Quixote's horse?
Rocinante.