Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Miguel de Cervantes was born in 1547 in Alcala de Henares, Spain. He was one of 7 children in the family. It is assumed that his childhood was affected by his family constantly moving around. He was schooled in Seville and Madrid where he started to write his first poems.

When he turned twenty he went on a trip to Italy where he was introduced to the magical world of Italian literature. He was amazed by Boccaccio and Dante and his life in Italy was troublous. He entered many battles and spent 5 years in captivity in Algeria.

He came back to Spain and started working on his writing more. Despite the quantity and quality of his work, he could never impose as a writer. His novels weren’t a success and since he had no money he lived on the verge of bankruptcy.

The failure of the banker in charge of his finances got him to jail where he started working on his short story "Don Quixote". A parody and a novel will emerge from that short story and will bring him the worldwide success he craved.

After the novel "Don Quixote" he published ten short stories and started writing poems. Cervantes also wrote a sequel to the story of Don Quixote and it was a success in Europe and wider.

He is remembered as one of the best storytellers in Spain and worldwide and as one of the most significant writers of all time. He died in Madri