Guide to the Classics: ‘Don Quixote,’ the World’s First Novel and One of the Best

The windmills of Consuegra, Spain, made famous by Miguel de Cervantes in his "The Ingenious Nobleman Don Quixote of La Mancha." Michal Osmenda/ CC 2.0

“Somewhere in La Mancha, in a place whose name I do not care to remember…”

This line, arguably the most famous in the history of Spanish literature, is the opening of “The Ingenious Nobleman Don Quixote of La Mancha” by Miguel de Cervantes, the first modern novel.