Cervantes, Miguel de (1547-1616)
The Travels of Persiles and Sigismunda. A Northern History.

London: Printed for H[umphrey] L[ownes] for M[atthew] L[ownes], 1619.

First English edition, translated anonymously, quarto; bound in very good contemporary English calf, rebacked by Bernard Middleton, 7 1/2 x 5 1/4 in.

Cervantes finished this work only three days before his death. He sought to create a serious romance work that would serve as a corollary to Quixote, his comic masterpiece. He considered Persiles a great success and although it has been somewhat misunderstood by modern scholars, more recent readings are casting it in a different light. (See also work on the subject by Michael Nerlich and Michael Armstrong-Roche.)

STC 4918; Rius 1013; Wither to Prior 891; ESTC S107935, locating eight copies in American libraries; rare at auction.

From the Ken Rapoport Collection.