Cervantes` tale of the deranged gentleman who turns knight-errant, tilts at windmills & battles with sheep in the service of the lady of his dreams, Dulcinea del Toboso, has fascinated generations of readers, & inspired other creative artists such as Flaubert, Picasso & Richard Strauss. The tall, thin knight & his short, fat squire, Sancho Panza, have found their way into films, cartoons & even computer games. Supposedly intended as a parody of the most popular escapist fiction of the day, the `books of chivalry`, this precursor of the modern novel broadened & deepened into a sophisticated, comic account of the contradictions of human nature. Cervantes` greatest work can be enjoyed on many levels, all suffused with a subtle irony that reaches out to encompass the reader. ...

Miguel de Cervantes`s mock-epic masterwork, ” Don Quixote” was voted the greatest book of all time by the Nobel Institute, & this ” Penguin Classics” edition is translated with an introduction & notes by John Rutherford. ” Don Quixote” has become so entranced by reading romances of chivalry that he determines to become a knight errant & pursue bold adventures, accompanied by his squire, the cunning Sancho Panza. As they roam the world together, the aging Quixote`s fancy leads them wildly astray, tilting at windmills, fighting with friars, & distorting the rural Spanish landscape into a fantasy of impenetrable fortresses & wicked sorcerers. At the same time the relationship between the two men grows in fascinating subtlety. Often considered to be the first modern novel, ” Don Quixote” is a wonderful burlesque of the popular literature its disordered protagonist is obsessed with. John Rutherford`s landmark translation does full justice to the energy & wit of Cervantes` prose, & this edition of ” Don Quixote” won the 2002 Premio Valle Inclan prize for translation. His introduction discusses the traditional works parodied in ” Don Quixote” & issues of literary translation. Miguel de Cervantes Saaverda`s (1547-1616) life was occupied with a struggle to earn a livelihood from literature & humble government employment. As well as ” Don Quixote”, he wrote a number of plays & a collection of highly accomplished short stories, ” Exemplary Tales” (1613). If you enjoyed ” Don Quixote”, you might like Homer`s ” Odyssey”, also available in ” Penguin Classics”. ” John Rutherford makes ” Don Quixote” funny & readable.. . His Quixote can be pompous, imposingly learned, secretly fearful, mad & touching”. (Colin Burrow, ” The Times Literary Supplement”). ...

A reimagining of Don Quixote that champions another innovative classic for a new generation. This handsome edition of ” Don Quixote” brings the wonderfully bonkers, truly innovative, & still very much culturally relevant Spanish classic to a modern, visually appreciative, literary & design audience, championing the book for its progressive meta-story narrative & celebrating it as a contemporary cultural object. Designed by the award-winning designer Fraser Muggeridge, this volume

Includes:: photographs by recent Royal College of Art graduate Jacob Robinson, specially commissioned to metaphorically trace & visually interpret the journey of Don Quixote in a fresh contemporary way through vibrant, expansive, & dynamic-in-scale landscapes. Bringing another entry point to the classic narrative, the photos also invite new interpretations, both romantic & realistic.

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The Vintage Classics Europeans series
- with covers provided by textile design firm Wallace Sewell, these are must-have editions
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When in 1987 Miranda France spent a year living in Madrid, the post-dictatorship ebullience was at its height. Pornography & soft drugs were legalised alongside more basic freedoms, such as divorce, party-affiliation & kissing in the street. In 1998 she returned to make a journey through the great cities & towns of central Spain
- Madrid, Toledo, Segovia, Salamanca & others. With the new prosperity, much has changed. But much has also endured, as she learns from the people she meets, who include a private detective, a shepherd, various nuns, two belly dancers & a Castilian separatist. She also discovers that Cervantes` DON QUIXOTE` published in 1605 & the most translated book after the Bible
- is a work of genius which still helps to explain the Spanish character: today`s Spaniards still suffer from Don Quixote`s delusions, & are as stubborn, inflexible & unrealistic as they have always been.

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This entertaining publication takes all those by the hand who are curious about the diversity of communication. Two foreign correspondents have gathered everyday hand gestures from around 50 countries, from Australia to Zimbabwe. The results, beautifully captured in nearly 80 colour photographs, are often amusing & always instructive. With its original design, stunning finish & handy format, ' Don't Get Me Wrong!' makes for a cool & compact travel companion. Beautifully designed by a team of award-winning art book designers, the gestures from around 50 countries were researched & collected by two well-travelled journalists. ...

This is a memoir of war-torn colonial Africa in the 1970s, when a schoolgirl was as likely to carry a shotgun as a satchel. Alexandra Fuller was two in 1971, the year her parents abandoned their life in England & returned to what was then Rhodesia, & to the beginning of a bloody civil war. While her father was away for long stretches, fighting for Ian Smith's government, her mother worked the family farm with a passionate determination fuelled by a ferocious love for Africa. This is the story of one family's quixotic battle against the ravages of nature & the pain of bereavement, & of their unbreakable bond with the continent which defined, shaped, scarred & healed them. At times hilarious & tragic, Fuller renders her childhood in wonderful prose against the background of far larger historical events. ...

In Africa only food runs...and there's nothing you can outrun! In the tradition of Bill Bryson, a new writer brings us the lively adventures & wit of an African safari guide. Despite that fact that I had none of the qualities you would expect of a rugged bush man...I'm markedly uncoordinated, can't repair vehicles or understand how they work, I don't like guns, & sweat profusely when nervous or excited..which is exactly how watching animals makes me feel, Peter Allison works as a top safari guide in the Okavango Delta. In this oasis of wetland in the middle of the Kalahari desert, rich with wildlife, he caters to the whims of his wealthy clients, he often has to overcome the impulse to run as far away from them as he can, as these tourists are sometimes more dangerous than a pride of lions! Full of outrageous-but-true tales of the people & animals he has encountered
- the half-naked missing member of the British royal family; the squirrel that overdosed on malaria pills; the monkeys with an underwear fetish; & last, but by no means least, Spielberg the video-obsessed Japanese tourist
- Allison's hilarious stories reveal his good-natured scorn for himself, as well as others. Allison's humour is exceeded only by his love & respect for the animals, & his goal is to limit any negative exposure by planning trips that are minimally invasive
- unfortunately it doesn't always work out that way, as he & his clients discover to their cost when they find themselves up to their necks in a hippo-infested watering hole! Full of essential wisdom like Don't run, whatever you do & never stand behind a frightened zebra (they are prone to explosive flatulence when scared!), this is a wonderful & vivid portrait of what the life of a safari guide is really like.


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Dona Nicanora is a woman led by her dreams. She imagines adventures far beyond her small, swampy South American village, & ideally quite far away from her relentless family & neighbours. It`s quite simple: what she needs is the love of a good man, & a shop full of her own beautifully handcrafted hats. But Nicanora`s life is never quite straightforward. & from the day an entirely silent stranger arrives in Villa de la Virgen, strange happenings occur, & Dona Nicanora`s world is turned on its head. Here is a bittersweet tale of hopes frustrated & fulfilled, with an irresistible love story at its heart. ...

Surrounded by forest & reached only by a treacherous road, the sleepy South American town of Valle de la Virgen is almost unknown to the outside world. But after a silent stranger rolls in on the back of a pick-up truck, nothing is the same again. Life for the town`s inhabitants has not turned out as they once dreamed. Dona Nicanora never did escape the swamp town & travel the world, Don Bosco did not marry the woman he loved, & the mayor is yet to achieve the power & influence he craves. But it is not until the arrival of the mysterious foreigner, known only as Gringito, that their dreams start to be reawakened. Yet every dream must come at a price & the inhabitants of this sleepy little town are about to get more than they bargained for. Intriguing & intoxicating, with a host of unforgettable characters in a magical setting, ” Dona Nicanora`s Hat Shop” is a remarkable novel that dares us to follow our dreams. ...