Don Quixote is a part of English consciousness today. "Quixotic" is a synonym for a lovely but impossible goal. This collection takes a step back to show how this pervasive influence began and
developed. Ardila (Hispanic Studies, University of Edinburgh) begins with essays on the early translations of Cervantes into English, which happened almost immediately after the 1605
publication of Part One. Most of the following articles look at the influence of Cervantes, both Don Quixote and The Exemplary Novels on writers from the seventeenth through the twentieth
centuries. These include Henry Fielding, Tobias Smollett, George Elliot, Dickens and perhaps Milton and Defoe. Playwrights also drew on Cervantes' plots and quixotic characters including the
famous team of Beaumont and Fletcher. This is an interesting look at the many ways in which Don Quixote and his creator have settled into English thought. Distributed in North America by The
David Brown Book Co. Annotation 穢2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
