When an ageing, poverty-stricken nobleman decides to style himself "Don Quixote" and embark upon a series of daring endeavours, it is clear that his ability to distinguish between the fantasy world of literary romance and day-to-day reality has broken down.

In fact, his exploits turn into comic misadventures, in which everyday objects are transformed into the accoutrements of chivalry, peasant girls become princesses and windmills are mistaken for formidable knightly foes, leading the hero and his faithful squire Sancho Panza into the realms of absurdity and humiliation.

Renowned for its comical set pieces, "Don Quixote" is a profound meditation on the relationship between truth and fiction and the morality of deception, as well as the foundation stone of the modern novel.

This brand-new translation by Tom Lathrop preserves the humour of the original within elegant, accessible prose.