To celebrate the Translation Theme Semester and try our hand at
digital humanities we created this interactive chronology of translations of Cervantes'
novel
Don Quixote into English.
The wonderful richness and complexity of
Don Quixote inspired many authors to accept the seemingly impossible challenge
of translating it into their own language and making it available to a wider circle of readers.
Indeed, some of these translators were so wildly successful that they managed to turn Cervantes'
work into one of the most read books in 18th century England. It is also curious to note that
many of the translators worked almost simultaneously on their own rendering of the novel and,
as a result, a number of different
Don Quixotes would be published in a quick succession.
The readership would be satisfied for a while, and then another flurry of
Don Quixotes
would appear again.
To reveal bibliographic and historical details of each translation, together
with images of and links to the holdings of the University of Michigan Library, click each timeline
entry. This is very much a work in progress. Visit us again to see it develop. For comments and
questions, please contact
barbalva@umich.edu or
joque@umich.edu.
Barbara Alvarez + Justin Joque
12/05/12