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English already has a word for this book. To call someone "quixotic" is to say they chase ideals with more passion than practical sense. The word comes from a novel published in Spain more than four hundred years ago, about a country gentleman who read so many tales of knights that he decided to become one.
That novel is "Don Quixote," by Miguel de Cervantes. It is often called the first modern novel, it is one of the most-translated books in the world, and in a 2002 survey by the Norwegian Nobel Institute, writers from 55 countries voted it the greatest work of fiction ever written. None of that tells you the most useful thing, though: it is funny. Here is how it begins, and how to pick an English version you will actually enjoy.
The soldier who wrote it
Cervantes was born around 29 September 1547 in Alcalá de Henares, Spain (the exact date is not known). His life before the novel was eventful. At the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 he was wounded and lost the use of his left hand. In 1575 he was captured by pirates and spent about five years as a captive in Algiers before being ransomed in 1580. Later, working as a tax collector, he was briefly jailed over irregularities in his accounts.
Part One of "Don Quixote" appeared on 16 January 1605, under the title "El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha," printed by Juan de la Cuesta. In 1614, before Cervantes's own continuation appeared, someone writing as "Avellaneda" published an unauthorized sequel. Cervantes's real Part Two came out in 1615. He died in Madrid on 22 April 1616, the same year as Shakespeare, though, because England and Spain used different calendars, not on the same day.
Where the story begins
Before the first adventure, there are three new names. An old workhorse becomes Rocinante. A village girl from El Toboso, Aldonza Lorenzo, becomes, in his imagination only, the noble lady Dulcinea del Toboso. And Alonso Quixano, a poor hidalgo of La Mancha (a gentleman of the lowest rank of the nobility), nearing fifty and living with his niece and housekeeper, becomes Don Quixote de la Mancha. Fittingly, "quijote" is also the Spanish word for the piece of plate armour that protects the thigh.
Why the renaming? Because of books. Quixano has read so many chivalric romances, stories of knights errant, that he sold farmland to buy more of them, and he can no longer tell the stories from the real world. So he digs out an old suit of armour and rides off to be a knight errant himself.
The first outing does not go to plan. He takes an inn for a castle, and the innkeeper, simply to be rid of him, stages a mock ceremony that dubs him a knight. Traders from Toledo give him a beating, a neighbour has to bring him home, and once he is back, most of his books are burned.
So he tries again, this time with company. Sancho Panza, a farm labourer and his neighbour, agrees to serve as his squire on the promise of an island to govern. The two set off together, and that is where you should take over.
Choosing an English translation
This is the real decision, because "Don Quixote" has been translated into English many times, starting with Thomas Shelton, whose Part One appeared in 1612. Here is what is useful to know.
If you want it free: John Ormsby's 1885 translation is in the public domain and is available on Project Gutenberg. It is a serious choice, not just a cheap one. According to Wikipedia, most modern translators take Ormsby as their model, and his careful notes are part of its value, so look for an edition that keeps them.
If you want a recent version: Edith Grossman's 2003 translation has won strong praise: Carlos Fuentes called it a major literary achievement, and another reviewer judged it the most transparent of more than a dozen English versions. That makes it a good default for a reader who simply wants the story to come through clearly. John Rutherford's translation was the first of the twenty-first century, and others by Tom Lathrop and James H. Montgomery followed.
If you see older names in a used bookshop: Pierre Antoine Motteux's version from around 1700 was popular for a long time, but Ormsby judged it worse than worthless, and Samuel Putnam separately objected to its slapstick quality, especially in Sancho's scenes. The versions by Charles Jarvis and by Tobias Smollett (1755) are still reprinted; Jarvis's was the most accurate English version of its time, though it has been called stiff. Putnam (1949) and J. M. Cohen (1950) were among the most widely read translations of the mid-twentieth century.
One practical tip: the novel comes in two parts, Part One (1605) and Part Two (1615), and you only need Part One to start.
Why it is worth the length
The book is a parody of chivalric romance, so much of the comedy comes from the gap between the knight's grand speeches and the ordinary people who have to deal with him. Sancho, with his eye on his promised island, is the perfect partner for that comedy. The structure is episodic, and Cervantes often pauses for separate inserted tales, so the book can be read in short stretches over weeks without losing the thread.
Who will enjoy it
Readers who have always meant to try a great classic but want one that is genuinely entertaining. Anyone who likes road stories and mismatched pairs. Book lovers, especially, because this is a novel about what reading does to a person.
Start with Part One, and let the old gentleman ride out.
Sources
- Wikipedia, "Don Quixote" (original title of Part One; Part One published 16 January 1605, printed by Juan de la Cuesta and published by Francisco de Robles; Part Two published in 1615 by the same press; described as a founding work of Western literature and often as the first modern novel; one of the most-translated books in the world; the 2002 Norwegian Nobel Institute survey of writers from 55 countries; parody of chivalric romance; episodic structure with inserted tales; opening setup: an hidalgo of La Mancha nearing 50 who lives with his niece and housekeeper, renames himself and his horse Rocinante, chooses Aldonza Lorenzo as his lady Dulcinea del Toboso, is mock-dubbed by an innkeeper, is beaten by traders from Toledo and brought home by a neighbour, then recruits Sancho Panza, a farm labourer, with the promise of a governorship; the innkeeper dubs him in order to be rid of him; the word quijote as the term for the thigh armour called cuisses; the meaning of "quixotic"; English translations by Shelton (1612/1620), Motteux (c. 1700), Jarvis, Smollett (1755), Ormsby (1885), Putnam (1949), Cohen (1950), Raffel (1996), Rutherford, Grossman (2003), Lathrop and Montgomery (2006); the article's remarks: Shelton far from satisfactory according to Ormsby and Putnam; Motteux lastingly popular, called worse than worthless by Ormsby, and faulted by Putnam for its slapstick quality; Jarvis the most scholarly and accurate up to its time but criticized as too stiff; Jarvis and Smollett still reprinted; most modern translators take Ormsby's 1885 version as their model, and editions with his notes are preferable; Putnam and Cohen among the most widely read mid-twentieth-century translations; Rutherford the first of the twenty-first-century translations; Grossman's called a major literary achievement by Carlos Fuentes and the most transparent of more than a dozen English versions by another reviewer) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Quixote
- Wikipedia (Japanese), "ドン・キホーテ" (original title of Part Two; a poor hidalgo living in a village of La Mancha; the protagonist's name Alonso Quixano; losing the ability to tell stories from reality through reading chivalric romances; Aldonza Lorenzo as a village girl of El Toboso; Sancho Panza as a farmer from the neighbourhood; selling farmland to buy books of chivalry; most of his books burned after his return; the unauthorized sequel of 1614 by "Avellaneda") https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/ドン・キホーテ
- Wikipedia, "Miguel de Cervantes" (born around 29 September 1547 in Alcalá de Henares, the date being assumed; died 22 April 1616 in Madrid; wounded at Lepanto in 1571 and lost the use of his left hand; captured in 1575 and held in Algiers for about five years until ransomed in 1580; tax collector from 1592 and briefly jailed; died in the same year as Shakespeare but not on the same day) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miguel_de_Cervantes
- Project Gutenberg, "Don Quixote" eBook #996 (translated by John Ormsby; public domain in the USA; free to read) https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/996