"Widely acknowledged as the first modern novel, Miguel de Cervantes's Don Quixote features two of the most famous characters ever created: Don Quixote de la Mancha, the tall, bewildered, and half-crazy knight, and Sancho Panza, his rotund and incorrigibly loyal squire. The unforgettable comic dynamic between these two legendary figures has served as the blue-print for countless novels written since Cervantes's time. An immediate success when first published in 1605, Don Quixote tells the story of a middle-aged Spanish gentleman who, obsessed with the chivalrous ideals found in romantic books, decides to take up his lance and sword to defend the helpless and destroy the wicked. Seated upon his lean nag of a horse and accompanied by the pragmatic Sancho Panza, Don Quixote travels the roads of Spain seeking glory and grand adventure. Along the way the duo meet a dazzling assortment of characters whose diverse beliefs and perspectives reveal that reality and imagination are frequently indistinguishable. Profound, powerful, and hilarious, Don Quixote continues to capture the imaginations of audiences all over the world. Book jacket."--