This volume presents Tobias Smollett’s translation of Cervantes’s
Don Quixote
in the form most faithful to Smollett’s own intentions. Smollett’s work first appeared in 1755 and was for many years the most popular English-language version of Cervantes’s text. However, soon after the turn of the nineteenth century rival translators and scholers initiated a variety of charges against Smollett - even plagiarism. Its reputation was again restored in 1986 when the Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes declared it to be
the authentic vernacular version
of
Don Quixote
in English. The introduction to this work discusses the composition, publication, and controversial reception of this work, while the commentary provides cross references to the other works and illustrates Smollett’s originality or dependance on other versions. Also included is a complete textual aparatus, a glossary of unfamiliar terms, and an appendix comparing Francis Hayman’s original illustrations with the engraved renderings used in the book.
