No Ordinary Man

The Life and Times of Miguel de Cervantes

Donald P. McCrory

• Publisher: Peter Owen Publishers
• Year: 2014
• Topic: Literature
• eBook ISBN:
  9780720616309
• Subtopic: Literary Biographies
• Index: Literature

The first biography to be aimed at the general reader as much as at students and historians, No Ordinary Man is a fascinating study of the life and work of Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616), the writer known as the "Spanish Shakespeare" and author of the timeless classic Don Quixote. A renaissance man in all senses of the term, Cervantes was, in his time, an adventurer, spy, soldier, hostage, and creator of the first European novel. This biography is based on the latest original research and incorporates previously unpublished material on Cervantes' long period of captivity in Algiers, his involvement in piracy in the Mediterranean, espionage, and the Spanish Armada, and his work for the Spanish government. Containing much information never before available in English, No Ordinary Man makes an important contribution to the understanding of this unique literary and historical figure.

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• About the Book & About the Author
• Praise
• Title Page
• Acknowledgements
• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Introduction
• 1 Humble Origins: The Makings of a Hero (1547–69)
• 2 Exile and the Fortunes of War (1569–75)
• 3 Captivity in Algiers (1575–80)
• 4 The Captive’s Return (1580–6)
• 5 Precarious Years in Andalusia (1586–90)
• 6 The Vexatious Life of a Government Tax Collector (1590–8)
• 7 The Impulse to Write (1598–1604)
• 8 Don Quixote, the Knight Errant of La Mancha (1604–8)
• 9 A Full-Time Professional Writer (1608–14)
• 10 The Final Flowering (1614–16)
• Notes
• Appendix 1: A Brief Chronology of the Life of Miguel de Cervantes
• Appendix 2: The Cervantes Family Tree
• Appendix 3: A Note on Currency
• Select Bibliography
• Index
• Untitled
• Copyright
• Contacts Page
• Some Authors
• Back Cover