The Cervantes Encyclopedia

Publication of this new encyclopedia on Miguel Cervantes could hardly be timelier as students of European literature prepare to mark the 400th anniversary of the publication of the first volume of Don Quixote in 2005. Although by no means Cervantes' first literary work – he was almost 50 years old when Don Quixote was published – the history of Cervantes' ingenious nobleman is widely recognised as the forerunner of the novel as we know it today.

In spring 2002 a poll of 100 writers worldwide conducted by the Norwegian Book Club declared Don Quixote the greatest literary work of all...