The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha

What can be said about the greatest novel by Miguel de Cervantes that has not already been said? «Don Quixote» has been around for four hundred years, and for almost all this time it has been in the top ten greatest books of humanity. The Nobel Institute declared it the best work of fiction in the entire history of world literature.
Originally conceived as a parody of chivalric romances – the fantasy genre of that time – «Don Quixote» absorbed all the layers of Renaissance literature. Moorish tales, pícaro novels, Spanish romances, Italian Renaissance poems – all found their reflection in this great work. In turn, Cervantes' masterpiece had a colossal influence on the development of world literature and art – it is no coincidence that Vladimir Nabokov asserted that «reading other novelists, we do not part with Don Quixote for a moment in some sense».
But most importantly, even after four hundred years, «Don Quixote» remains devilishly fascinating reading!
In 1855, the outstanding French artist-illustrator Gustave Doré went to Spain, the homeland of the «glorious knight, to convey the local color and see the places he glorified with his deeds». The cycle of illustrations created by the artist, published in 1863, continues to adorn new editions of Cervantes' novel in many languages around the world.