Book description
Cervantes' tale of the deranged gentleman who turns knight-errant,
tilts at windmills and battles with sheep in the service of the lady of
his dreams, Dulcinea del Toboso, has fascinated generations of readers,
and inspired other creative artists such as Flaubert, Picasso and
Richard Strauss. The tall, thin knight and his short, fat squire, Sancho
Panza, have found their way into films, cartoons and even computer
games. Supposedly intended as a parody of the most popular escapist
fiction of the day, the 'books of chivalry', this precursor of the
modern novel broadened and deepened into a sophisticated, comic account
of the contradictions of human nature. Cervantes' greatest work can be
enjoyed on many levels, all suffused with a subtle irony that reaches
out to encompass the reader. Cervantes' tale of the deranged gentleman
who turns knight-errant, tilts at windmills and battles with sheep in
the service of the lady of his dreams, Dulcinea del Toboso, has
fascinated generations of readers, and inspired other creative artists
such as Flaubert, Picasso and Richard Strauss. The tall, thin knight and
his short, fat squire, Sancho Panza, have found their way into films,
cartoons and even computer games. Supposedly intended as a parody of the
most popular escapist fiction of the day, the 'books of chivalry', this
precursor of the modern novel broadened and deepened into a
sophisticated, comic account of the contradictions of human nature.
Cervantes' greatest work can be enjoyed on many levels, all suffused
with a subtle irony that reaches out to encompass the reader.
