The novel "Don Quixote" by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra tells the story of a young hero who has already read the novels of knights and decided to become a wandering knight. Nothing special: the text was written and perceived as a funny parody of the reader's favorite at that time, the novels of the knights, but in fact everything was much more complicated. "Don Quixote" is an innovative work, and its influence on European literature began soon after the release.
The publication of Don Quixote
The novel was published in two separate books in 1605 and 1615, although it is assumed that the plan of the second book was already in 1613, and to finish it, as they believe, Cervantes pushed the publication of a fake "Don Quixote" ("False Quixote" by Avellaneda). Two novels at the time of publication were not one book (such it became in the perception of descendants), and modern researchers even claim that the novel is so surprisingly arranged that it can start reading from anywhere in any part of the world.
The first edition of "Don Quixote" was published in late 1604 in the Madrid publishing house of Juan de la Cuesta, and in January 1605, the first book was published. The first edition was about 1700 copies, most of which are believed to have gone to Latin America. As the most eminent of the modern servile artists, Francois Rico rightly points out, this is the worst of the editions of the novel, which has a lot of negligence, errors and typos. However, the success was instant and overwhelming. The book immediately became popular: after a few months in the carnivals and masquerades are actively involved in the figures ranked under the Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. And it is impossible to say that there were periods when the novel was forgotten or not printed. On the contrary, the circulation and glory of centuries from the century only grew. This triumph has lasted for four centuries.
Moreover, the first translations were made during the lifetime of Cervantes: in 1612 the book was translated into English, and in 1614 - into French. English translation was made by Thomas Shelton, French - Caesar Uden, a famous polyglot, secretary and translator of Henry IV. Of course, the translators made minor adjustments, but in general, these translations can be called quite accurate, sometimes even too literal, without special linguistic finishing, but convey the value of the novel and the popularity of its characters.
Readers' attitude to the novel
Why the novel "Don Quixote" immediately turned out to be so famous and did not lose its popularity in the future - the question is very complex. The simplest explanation is that before Don Quixote in Spanish and European literature in general, there are almost no "living" heroes. Untouched and memorable hero was far from any literary samples, types and schemes. The image of Don Quixote is based on total parodying, on the loosening of all possible literary cliches. Maybe that's why the novel turned out to be so multi-layered. It has an interesting story, humor, thanks to which it will be funny and fascinating for readers for many generations. If very briefly describe the two lines of perception of the novel, we can say that there is a line that always considers it primarily as a light parody. And there is a tendency to interpret it as a very serious and deep text. These tendencies begin to coexist quite quickly, maybe already in the next century. And the closest contemporaries appreciated the novel ambiguously. Cervantes was reproached for debunking all the lofty ideals, finished with the genre of all the favorite novel of chivalry. He was even reproached for defaming the national idea.
Spanish XVIII century treated the "Don Quixote" rather as a satire for manners. It was in the 18th century that "Don Quixote" became a Spanish classic, and it was included in the school curriculum: it is known that as soon as the work becomes compulsory for study at school, it immediately falls into the category of national classics.