This Is A New Release Of The Original 1909 Edition.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1909 Edition.

1909. Edited by Charles W. Eliot. Contents: The First Part of the Delightful History of the Most Ingenious Knight. The present volume contains the whole of the first part of the novel, which is complete in itself. The second part, issued in 1615, the year before his death, is of a nature of a sequel, and is generally regarded as inferior. In writing his great novel, Cervantes set out to parody the romances of chivalry. With reference to the fiction of the Middle Ages, it is a triumphant satire; with reference to modern novels, it is the first and the most widely enjoyed.

The story begins with a winter storm sweeping across a summer resort town in New Jersey. Maggie, a recent widow, is alone with her grief in a rented cottage on the shore. As the wind howls and blusters around her little red house, she opens her door to a stranger whose car has broken down on a nearby road. He explains that he saw her single light burning on the deserted shore and appeals to her for help and shelter from the storm.

Maggie and Walt quickly become friends . Their advanced age and wisdom afford them the luxury of knowing that life is short so they indulge each day to its fullest. Their friendship is symbolized by this single light that brought them together and rescued each of them from a life filled by loneliness and despair.

Maggie learns that Walt is not a widower, but unlike herself has a wife, Mary, who has been hospitalized with Alzheimer's disease and a fatal heart condition for more than a year. Walt is despondent over his conflicting emotions. His love for Mary is strong, but she has been unresponsive for years because of her illness. Walt feels he needs to go on with his life but feels guilty for doing so.

1909. Edited by Charles W. Eliot. Contents: The First Part of the Delightful History of the Most Ingenious Knight. The present volume contains the whole of the first part of the novel, which is complete in itself. The second part, issued in 1615, the year before his death, is of a nature of a sequel, and is generally regarded as inferior. In writing his great novel, Cervantes set out to parody the romances of chivalry. With reference to the fiction of the Middle Ages, it is a triumphant satire; with reference to modern novels, it is the first and the most widely enjoyed.