The Unlikely Life Story of the Heroic Cervantes

The Unlikely Life Story of the Heroic Cervantes
A detail from "Miguel de Cervantes imagining Don Quixote," 1858, by Mariano de la Roca y Delgado. Oil on canvas. The Prado Museum, Madrid. Public Domain
Walker Larson
Updated:
0:00

Poet, prisoner, and playwright, sailor, soldier, and novelist, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra lived a life of extraordinary exploits and achievements, his colorful deeds and character rivaling the exuberance of his stories.

Cervantes is a giant striding through the literary landscape—many call his “Don Quixote” the first modern novel—but his accomplishments extend beyond the triumphs of the pen. Who was the man from whose multifaceted mind sprung a novel wide enough to enfold the whole world, and what experiences shaped this colossal, cosmic work?

A Drifter

Walker Larson
Walker Larson
Author
Prior to becoming a freelance journalist and culture writer, Walker Larson taught literature and history at a private academy in Wisconsin, where he resides with his wife and daughter. He holds a master's in English literature and language, and his writing has appeared in The Hemingway Review, Intellectual Takeout, and his Substack, The Hazelnut. He is also the author of two novels, "Hologram" and "Song of Spheres."