The death and life of Miguel de Cervantes : a novel

"An exuberant, fantastical portrait" narrated by the writer of The Adventures of Don Quixote de la Mancha himself ( The New York Times Book Review ). This is the story of my death and life, in which fiction and that lesser truth, history, from time to time form a seamless whole. Speaking is the hero of Stephen Marlowe's brilliant new novel. He is Don Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra: son of a barber-surgeon (always on the run from the bill collector), grandson of a converso (a Jew who chose Christianity over the flames of the Spanish Inquisition), adorer of his own sister (who may not have been his sister after all), brother of one of the most famous spies in recorded history (though the records have mysteriously vanished), prisoner in an Algerian dungeon (following capture by Barbary Pirates), friend to a Faustian eunuch astrologer named Cide Hamete Benegeli (whose missing private parts are miraculously regenerating), and, of course, creator of the most celebrated of all fictional historical novels— The Adventures of Don Quixote de la Mancha . "This exemplary fiction matches incredible fact with ingenious storytelling." — Publishers Weekly "Sly, irreverent, and written in a galloping contemporary style, this book is hugely entertaining." — Library Journal "An exuberant mock autobiography by an established writer of historical fiction . . . A spirited and witty tale for a sophisticated readership." — Booklist "Marlowe's 12th novel follows the pattern of his fictional portraits of Christopher Columbus and Edgar Allan Poe, as he surveys the life and times of the Renaissance soldier-writer who was Shakespeare's exact contemporary and who earned immortality as the author of Don Quixote ." — Kirkus Reviews This is the story of my death and life, in which fiction and that lesser truth, history, from time to time form a seamless whole. Speaking is the hero of Stephen Marlowe's brilliant new novel. He is Don Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra: son of a barber-surgeon (always on the run from the bill collector), grandson of a converso(a Jew who chose Christianity over the flames of the Spanish Inquisition), adorer of his own sister (who may not have been his sister after all), brother of one of the most famous spies in recorded history (though the records have mysteriously vanished), prisoner in an Algerian dungeon (following capture by Barbary Pirates), friend to a Faustian eunuch astrologer named Cide Hamete Benegeli (whose missing private parts are miraculously regenerating), and, of course, creator of the most celebrated of all fictional historical novels—The Adventures of Don Quixote de la Mancha. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade, Yucca, and Good Books imprints, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction—novels, novellas, political and medical thrillers, comedy, satire, historical fiction, romance, erotic and love stories, mystery, classic literature, folklore and mythology, literary classics including Shakespeare, Dumas, Wilde, Cather, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home. A fictionalized biography of Spain's famous writer, the author of Don Quixote. The son of an impoverished noble, he becomes a soldier, is wounded in the Battle of Lepanto, later is captured by pirates and held for ransom. While in jail in Algiers he is inspired to become a writer. By the author of The Lighthouse at the End of the World