L'Ingénieux Hidalgo Don Quichotte de la Manche - Tome II Cervantes, Miguel (Traducteur: Louis Viardot) Publication:1605 Catégorie(s):Fiction, Roman Source:http://www.ebooksgratuits.com 1 A Propos Cervantes: Don Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra ( September 29, 1547 – April 23, 1616) was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright. Cervantes was one of the most important and influential persons in literature and the leading figure associated with the cultural fluorescence of sixteenth century Spain (the Siglo de Oro). His novel, Don Quixote, is considered as a founding classic of Western literature and regularly figures among the best novels ever written; it has been translated into more than sixtyfive languages, while editions continue regularly to be printed, and critical discussion of the work has unabatedly persisted since the 18th century. He has been dubbed el Príncipe de los Ingenios (the Prince of Wits). Cervantes, born in Alcalá de Henares, was the fourth of seven children in a family whose origins may have been of the minor gentry. The family moved from town to town, and little is known of Cervantes's early years. Cervantes made his literary début in 1568. By 1570 he had enlisted as a soldier in a Spanish infantry regiment and continued his military life until 1575, when he was captured by barbary pirates on his return home. He was ransomed by his parents and the Trinitarians and returned to his family in Madrid.