Don Quixote of the Mancha, Retold by Judge Parry

Parry, Edward Abbott, Sir, 1863-1943Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.5

Word count: 334K words
Chapters: 34

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Don Quixote of the Mancha, Retold by Judge Parry by Cervantes Saavedra and ParryAuthor: Parry, Edward Abbott, Sir, 1863-1943,Language: English, Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres, Release Date: Jul 12, 2017

Editor's review

This English abridgment of Don Quixote, retold by the British judge Edward Abbott Parry for young readers, keeps the most representative adventures and character relationships from Cervantes's original while cutting digressive interpolated tales and some adult satire, making the story tighter and brisker. Parry's retelling is clear in language and regular in sentence structure, suitable as a first door into this classic. Readers can see Quixote's absurdity in mistaking windmills for giants and inns for castles, and feel the comic yet moving bond between master and squire. As a public-domain ebook, it is convenient for annotation on screen or printouts, suitable for English learners building narrative vocabulary and familiarity with classical storytelling, and for parents or teachers as shared-reading material offering a light textual entry into discussing ideals versus reality, courage versus sanity. Note that the abridgment weakens the original's many embedded stories and layers of irony; for literary study, return to an unabridged translation.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Middle-school-and-above readers who want a first English read of Don Quixote's plot
Primary and secondary English teachers and parents needing short English shared-reading material
Learners who want to build narrative English vocabulary through a familiar story
General readers interested in knight-errant adventure but daunted by the full long text

Not a good fit for

Literary specialists studying the full scope of Cervantes's original
Adult readers expecting complete interpolated tales and deep ironic structure
Children with weak English who cannot yet read long English passages independently

Reading tips

Read a chapter through for plot first, then go back and mark recurring knight-romance phrasing to build expressions.
Read Quixote's words against Sancho's replies to feel the humor from their differing perspectives.
After each adventure segment, retell the gist in two or three English sentences to check real understanding of the narrative logic.
If reading with a child, first discuss "why does he take windmills for giants," then return to the text for evidence.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

How different is this retelling from Cervantes's original?

Mainly in length and layers. Parry cuts many interpolated tales, poems, and adult satire, focusing on the main adventures and simplifying language. The story skeleton and main characters remain, but the original's complex irony and multiple narratives are weakened; it suits entry, not replacing the full translation.

What English level is needed to read this book?

Sentences are relatively regular and vocabulary leans toward common narrative words; readers with high-school-level English reading ability who can handle new words with a dictionary can usually progress. If long sentences frequently stall you, read a bilingual edition first or read aloud in segments, then return to the English.

Is this book suitable for classroom use?

It suits short shared reading or elective reading material. Teachers can close-read passages such as the windmills and the inn, and discuss ideals versus reality, narrative exaggeration, and similar topics. As an abridgment, it is advisable to note the original's existence so students do not equate it with Cervantes's full work.

What should I watch for when reading the electronic version?

Public-domain ebook layout varies by platform; paragraph and chapter markers may be less clear than in print. Before reading, skim the table of contents, fix font size and line spacing, and use bookmarks and annotation; for study, print key chapters for close paper reading.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Parry, Edward Abbott, Sir, 1863-1943 Author

Edward Abbott Parry (1863–1943) was a British judge and writer whose works fall into two broad categories: legal practice and literary retelling. Two of his works are included here: Don Quixote of the Mancha, Retold by Judge Parry, and The Law and the Poor. The former retells a classic in his capacity as a judge, in clear prose addressed to general readers, making Cervantes's story more accessible; the latter reflects his concern for the law and the circumstances of the poor. Because public information is limited, the details of his life are difficult to establish with certainty, but the surviving works show that he was committed both to popularizing literary classics and to discussing social problems from the standpoint of judicial practice, combining readability with practical concern.