An almost loving, mockery of the chivalric romances of the 1500's, Cervantes cut away at the stagnant and flat characterization that defined those stories through satire and a world where characters developed and were deeply affected by the events unfolding around them. It was such a hit that part one wound up republished repeatedly during its first year of release.

This edition is an early 1930's printing done by Hogarth Press, in its last decade before Virginia Woolf relinquished partnership over the publishing house. The art are wood engravings done by the ever-fabulous Gustave Doré.