"The Perils of Persiles and Sigismunda, a Northern Saga" by Miguel de Cervantes

Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda, historia septentrional (1617) is Miguel de Cervantes’s last major work. Virtually ignored for the past four hundred years and overshadowed by the acclaim accorded Don Quixote, it is due a revival. As indicated by this new English title, The Perils of Persiles and Sigismunda, a Northern Saga, this challenging saga-like fiction follows an attractive young prince and princess who undertake a perilous pilgrimage by sea and on land from their North Atlantic islands to Rome.

This new translation by William Thomas Little takes full account of recent scholars’ ground-breaking research and their new readings. It also includes a selected bibliography, a contextualizing introduction, and footnotes on the text that clarify for contemporary readers cultural issues that were readily known to seventeenth-century readers in Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, and England.

William Thomas Little is Professor Emeritus at Cal Poly. He is the editor of The Labors of the Very Brave Knight Esplandián by Montalvo (1510); and The Velázquez Christ by Unamuno (1920).