Browse books

Don Quixote

By Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (translated by John Ormsby)

Cover of Don Quixote

Cover: Don Quixote and Sancho Panza (c. 1866-1868), oil on panel by Honoré Daumier (1808-1879) · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain (artist died 1879)

Cervantes's novel of 1605 and 1615 follows a country gentleman who reads so many chivalric romances that he sets out as a knight, with his squire Sancho Panza. A reader finds windmills, comic misadventure and tenderness.

Summary written with Claude Sonnet 5.5.

Start reading

Table of contents

  1. 1: Which Treats of the Character and Pursuits of the Famous Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha
  2. 2: Which Treats of the First Sally the Ingenious Don Quixote Made from Home
  3. 3: Wherein Is Related the Droll Way in Which Don Quixote Had Himself Dubbed a Knight
  4. 4: Of What Happened to Our Knight When He Left the Inn
  5. 5: In Which the Narrative of Our Knight’s Mishap Is Continued
  6. 6: Of the Diverting and Important Scrutiny Which the Curate and the Barber Made in the Library of Our Ingenious Gentleman
  7. 7: Of the Second Sally of Our Worthy Knight Don Quixote of La Mancha
  8. 8: Of the Good Fortune Which the Valiant Don Quixote Had in the Terrible and Undreamt-of Adventure of the Windmills, with Other Occurrences Worthy to Be Fitly Recorded
  9. 9: In Which Is Concluded and Finished the Terrific Battle Between the Gallant Biscayan and the Valiant Manchegan
  10. 10: Of the Pleasant Discourse That Passed Between Don Quixote and His Squire Sancho Panza
  11. 11: What Befell Don Quixote with Certain Goatherds
  12. 12: Of What a Goatherd Related to Those with Don Quixote
  13. 13: In Which Is Ended the Story of the Shepherdess Marcela, with Other Incidents
  14. 14: Wherein Are Inserted the Despairing Verses of the Dead Shepherd, Together with Other Incidents Not Looked for
  15. 15: In Which Is Related the Unfortunate Adventure That Don Quixote Fell in with When He Fell Out with Certain Heartless Yanguesans
  16. 16: Of What Happened to the Ingenious Gentleman in the Inn Which He Took to Be a Castle
  17. 17: In Which Are Contained the Innumerable Troubles Which the Brave Don Quixote and His Good Squire Sancho Panza Endured in the Inn, Which to His Misfortune He Took to Be a Castle
  18. 18: In Which Is Related the Discourse Sancho Panza Held with His Master, Don Quixote, and Other Adventures Worth Relating
  19. 19: Of the Shrewd Discourse Which Sancho Held with His Master, and of the Adventure That Befell Him with a Dead Body, Together with Other Notable Occurrences
  20. 20: Of the Unexampled and Unheard-of Adventure Which Was Achieved by the Valiant Don Quixote of La Mancha with Less Peril Than Any Ever Achieved by Any Famous Knight in the World
  21. 21: Which Treats of the Exalted Adventure and Rich Prize of Mambrino’s Helmet, Together with Other Things That Happened to Our Invincible Knight
  22. 22: Of the Freedom Don Quixote Conferred on Several Unfortunates Who Against Their Will Were Being Carried Where They Had No Wish to Go
  23. 23: Of What Befell Don Quixote in the Sierra Morena, Which Was One of the Rarest Adventures Related in This Veracious History
  24. 24: In Which Is Continued the Adventure of the Sierra Morena
  25. 25: Which Treats of the Strange Things That Happened to the Stout Knight of La Mancha in the Sierra Morena, and of His Imitation of the Penance of Beltenebros
  26. 26: In Which Are Continued the Refinements Wherewith Don Quixote Played the Part of a Lover in the Sierra Morena
  27. 27: Of How the Curate and the Barber Proceeded with Their Scheme; Together with Other Matters Worthy of Record in This Great History
  28. 28: Which Treats of the Strange and Delightful Adventure That Befell the Curate and the Barber in the Same Sierra
  29. 29: Which Treats of the Droll Device and Method Adopted to Extricate Our Love-Stricken Knight from the Severe Penance He Had Imposed upon Himself
  30. 30: Which Treats of Address Displayed by the Fair Dorothea, with Other Matters Pleasant and Amusing
  31. 31: Of the Delectable Discussion Between Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, His Squire, Together with Other Incidents
  32. 32: Which Treats of What Befell Don Quixote’s Party at the Inn
  33. 33: In Which Is Related the Novel of “The Ill-Advised Curiosity”
  34. 34: In Which Is Continued the Novel of “The Ill-Advised Curiosity”
  35. 35: Which Treats of the Heroic and Prodigious Battle Don Quixote Had with Certain Skins of Red Wine, and Brings the Novel of “The Ill-Advised Curiosity” to a Close
  36. 36: Which Treats of More Curious Incidents That Occurred at the Inn
  37. 37: In Which Is Continued the Story of the Famous Princess Micomicona, with Other Droll Adventures
  38. 38: Which Treats of the Curious Discourse Don Quixote Delivered on Arms and Letters
  39. 39: Wherein the Captive Relates His Life and Adventures
  40. 40: In Which the Story of the Captive Is Continued
  41. 41: In Which the Captive Still Continues His Adventures
  42. 42: Which Treats of What Further Took Place in the Inn, and of Several Other Things Worth Knowing
  43. 43: Wherein Is Related the Pleasant Story of the Muleteer, Together with Other Strange Things That Came to Pass in the Inn
  44. 44: In Which Are Continued the Unheard-of Adventures of the Inn
  45. 45: In Which the Doubtful Question of Mambrino’s Helmet and the Pack-Saddle Is Finally Settled, with Other Adventures That Occurred in Truth and Earnest
  46. 46: Of the End of the Notable Adventure of the Officers of the Holy Brotherhood; and of the Great Ferocity of Our Worthy Knight, Don Quixote
  47. 47: Of the Strange Manner in Which Don Quixote of La Mancha Was Carried Away Enchanted, Together with Other Remarkable Incidents
  48. 48: In Which the Canon Pursues the Subject of the Books of Chivalry, with Other Matters Worthy of His Wit
  49. 49: Which Treats of the Shrewd Conversation Which Sancho Panza Held with His Master Don Quixote
  50. 50: Of the Shrewd Controversy Which Don Quixote and the Canon Held, Together with Other Incidents
  51. 51: Which Deals with What the Goatherd Told Those Who Were Carrying Off Don Quixote
  52. 52: Of the Quarrel That Don Quixote Had with the Goatherd, Together with the Rare Adventure of the Penitents, Which with an Expenditure of Sweat He Brought to a Happy Conclusion
  53. 53: Of the Interview the Curate and the Barber Had with Don Quixote About His Malady
  54. 54: Which Treats of the Notable Altercation Which Sancho Panza Had with Don Quixote’s Niece, and Housekeeper, Together with Other Droll Matters
  55. 55: Of the Laughable Conversation That Passed Between Don Quixote, Sancho Panza, and the Bachelor Samson Carrasco
  56. 56: In Which Sancho Panza Gives a Satisfactory Reply to the Doubts and Questions of the Bachelor Samson Carrasco, Together with Other Matters Worth Knowing and Telling
  57. 57: Of the Shrewd and Droll Conversation That Passed Between Sancho Panza and His Wife Teresa Panza, and Other Matters Worthy of Being Duly Recorded
  58. 58: Of What Took Place Between Don Quixote and His Niece and Housekeeper; One of the Most Important Chapters in the Whole History
  59. 59: Of What Passed Between Don Quixote and His Squire, Together with Other Very Notable Incidents
  60. 60: Wherein Is Related What Befell Don Quixote on His Way to See His Lady Dulcinea Del Toboso
  61. 61: Wherein Is Related What Will Be Seen There
  62. 62: Wherein Is Related the Crafty Device Sancho Adopted to Enchant the Lady Dulcinea, and Other Incidents As Ludicrous As They Are True
  63. 63: Of the Strange Adventure Which the Valiant Don Quixote Had with the Car or Cart of “The Cortes of Death”
  64. 64: Of the Strange Adventure Which Befell the Valiant Don Quixote with the Bold Knight of the Mirrors
  65. 65: In Which Is Continued the Adventure of the Knight of the Grove, Together with the Sensible, Original, and Tranquil Colloquy That Passed Between the Two Squires
  66. 66: Wherein Is Continued the Adventure of the Knight of the Grove
  67. 67: Wherein It Is Told and Known Who the Knight of the Mirrors and His Squire Were
  68. 68: Of What Befell Don Quixote with a Discreet Gentleman of La Mancha
  69. 69: Wherein Is Shown the Furthest and Highest Point Which the Unexampled Courage of Don Quixote Reached or Could Reach; Together with the Happily Achieved Adventure of the Lions
  70. 70: Of What Happened Don Quixote in the Castle or House of the Knight of the Green Gaban, Together with Other Matters Out of the Common
  71. 71: In Which Is Related the Adventure of the Enamoured Shepherd, Together with Other Truly Droll Incidents
  72. 72: Wherein an Account Is Given of the Wedding of Camacho the Rich, Together with the Incident of Basilio the Poor
  73. 73: In Which Camacho’s Wedding Is Continued, with Other Delightful Incidents
  74. 74: Wherein Is Related the Grand Adventure of the Cave of Montesinos in the Heart of La Mancha, Which the Valiant Don Quixote Brought to a Happy Termination
  75. 75: Chapter 75
  76. 76: Wherein Are Related a Thousand Trifling Matters, As Trivial As They Are Necessary to the Right Understanding of This Great History
  77. 77: Wherein Is Set Down the Braying Adventure, and the Droll One of the Puppet-Showman, Together with the Memorable Divinations of the Divining Ape
  78. 78: Wherein Is Continued the Droll Adventure of the Puppet-Showman, Together with Other Things in Truth Right Good
  79. 79: Chapter 79
  80. 80: Of Matters That Benengeli Says He Who Reads Them Will Know, If He Reads Them with Attention
  81. 81: Of the Famous Adventure of the Enchanted Bark
  82. 82: Of Don Quixote’s Adventure with a Fair Huntress
  83. 83: Which Treats of Many and Great Matters
  84. 84: Of the Reply Don Quixote Gave His Censurer, with Other Incidents, Grave and Droll
  85. 85: Of the Delectable Discourse Which the Duchess and Her Damsels Held with Sancho Panza, Well Worth Reading and Noting
  86. 86: Which Relates How They Learned the Way in Which They Were to Disenchant the Peerless Dulcinea Del Toboso, Which Is One of the Rarest Adventures in This Book
  87. 87: Wherein Is Continued the Instruction Given to Don Quixote Touching the Disenchantment of Dulcinea, Together with Other Marvellous Incidents
  88. 88: Chapter 88
  89. 89: Wherein Is Continued the Notable Adventure of the Distressed Duenna
  90. 90: Wherein Is Told the Distressed Duenna’s Tale of Her Misfortunes
  91. 91: In Which the Trifaldi Continues Her Marvellous and Memorable Story
  92. 92: Of Matters Relating and Belonging to This Adventure and to This Memorable History
  93. 93: Of the Arrival of Clavileño and the End of This Protracted Adventure
  94. 94: Of the Counsels Which Don Quixote Gave Sancho Panza Before He Set Out to Govern the Island, Together with Other Well-Considered Matters
  95. 95: Of the Second Set of Counsels Don Quixote Gave Sancho Panza
  96. 96: How Sancho Panza Was Conducted to His Government, and of the Strange Adventure That Befell Don Quixote in the Castle
  97. 97: Of How the Great Sancho Panza Took Possession of His Island, and of How He Made a Beginning in Governing
  98. 98: Of the Terrible Bell and Cat Fright That Don Quixote Got in the Course of the Enamoured Altisidora’s Wooing
  99. 99: Wherein Is Continued the Account of How Sancho Panza Conducted Himself in His Government
  100. 100: Of What Befell Don Quixote with Doña Rodriguez, the Duchess’s Duenna, Together with Other Occurrences Worthy of Record and Eternal Remembrance
  101. 101: Of What Happened Sancho in Making the Round of His Island
  102. 102: Chapter 102
  103. 103: Of the Progress of Sancho’s Government, and Other Such Entertaining Matters
  104. 104: Wherein Is Related the Adventure of the Second Distressed or Afflicted Duenna, Otherwise Called Doña Rodriguez
  105. 105: Of the Troublous End and Termination Sancho Panza’s Government Came to
  106. 106: Which Deals with Matters Relating to This History and No Other
  107. 107: Of What Befell Sancho on the Road, and Other Things That Cannot Be Surpassed
  108. 108: Of the Prodigious and Unparalleled Battle That Took Place Between Don Quixote of La Mancha and the Lacquey Tosilos in Defence of the Daughter of Doña Rodriguez
  109. 109: Which Treats of How Don Quixote Took Leave of the Duke, and of What Followed with the Witty and Impudent Altisidora, One of the Duchess’s Damsels
  110. 110: Which Tells How Adventures Came Crowding on Don Quixote in Such Numbers That They Gave One Another No Breathing-Time
  111. 111: Wherein Is Related the Strange Thing, Which May Be Regarded As an Adventure, That Happened Don Quixote
  112. 112: Of What Happened Don Quixote on His Way to Barcelona
  113. 113: Of What Happened Don Quixote on Entering Barcelona, Together with Other Matters That Partake of the True Rather Than of the Ingenious
  114. 114: Which Deals with the Adventure of the Enchanted Head, Together with Other Trivial Matters Which Cannot Be Left Untold
  115. 115: Of the Mishap That Befell Sancho Panza Through the Visit to the Galleys, and the Strange Adventure of the Fair Morisco
  116. 116: Treating of the Adventure Which Gave Don Quixote More Unhappiness Than All That Had Hitherto Befallen Him
  117. 117: Wherein Is Made Known Who the Knight of the White Moon Was; Likewise Don Gregorio’s Release, and Other Events
  118. 118: Which Treats of What He Who Reads Will See, or What He Who Has It Read to Him Will Hear
  119. 119: Chapter 119
  120. 120: Of the Bristly Adventure That Befell Don Quixote
  121. 121: Of the Strangest and Most Extraordinary Adventure That Befell Don Quixote in the Whole Course of This Great History
  122. 122: Which Follows Sixty-Nine and Deals with Matters Indispensable for the Clear Comprehension of This History
  123. 123: Of What Passed Between Don Quixote and His Squire Sancho on the Way to Their Village
  124. 124: Of How Don Quixote and Sancho Reached Their Village
  125. 125: Of the Omens Don Quixote Had As He Entered His Own Village, and Other Incidents That Embellish and Give a Colour to This Great History
  126. 126: Of How Don Quixote Fell Sick, and of the Will He Made, and How He Died