The epic tale of Don Quixote and his faithful squire, Sancho Panza, and their picaresque adventures in the world of seventeenth century Spain, form the basis of one of the great treasures of Western literature - a book that is both a hilarious satire of the chivalric code and a biting portrayal of an age in which nobility can be a form of madness. This brand-new, thoroughly modern translation, and the extensive introduction and footnotes, make Cervantes' masterpiece more delightful and accessible to English readers than ever before.