Don Quixote

About Miguel De Cervantes

Miguel De Cervantes (Author) Miguel de Cervantes was born on September 29 1547 in Alcala de Henares Spain. At twenty-three he enlisted in the Spanish militia and in 1571 fought against the Turks in the battle of Lepanto where a gunshot wound permanently crippled his left hand. He spent four more years at sea and then another five as a slave after being captured by Barbary pirates. Ransomed by his family he returned to Madrid but his disability hampered him; it was in debtor's prison that he began to write Don Quixote. Cervantes wrote many other works including poems and plays but he remains best known as the author of Don Quixote. He died on April 23 1616.Edith Grossman (Translator) Edith Grossman is the award-winning translator of major works by many of Latin America's most important writers. Born in Philadelphia she attended the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California at Berkeley before receiving her PhD from New York University. She lives in New York City.