Legacy: The Artists Behind The Legends

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a Spanish writer active during the later 16th and early 17th centuries, a man widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language. His novel and masterpiece Don Quixote is oftentimes considered the first modern novel – it is a Western classic of literature, and amongst one of the best pieces of fiction ever written. But hell, let’s be honest here: it took Cervantes quite some time to find his voice in the literary world. He was a famed soldier in the Spanish Navy, fighting bravely for his country until he was captured by pirates and forced into a life of slavery. Upon his ransom and rescue, Cervantes held odd government jobs, and he found himself in jail on a number of occasions due to his inability to adequately perform those jobs. There were a few vain attempts to break into the blossoming theater scene in Spain, a pastoral novel he held dear to his heart, and of course, some poorly written poetry, yet it wasn’t until Don Quixote that Cervantes truly put himself o