What can be more distressing for an avid reader than an author who lets his audience wait for years and years before he comes up with a sequel to a brilliant and beloved work? When Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547-1616) did not come up with the second part of his Don Quixote (the first part was published #onthisday in 1605), a certain Alonso Fernández de Avellaneda (most likely a pseudonym) took matters into his own hand. In 1614 he published a book called Segundo tomo del ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha, in which Don Quixote experienced many new adventures. This did not go unnoticed, not even by Don Quixote himself. When Cervantes finally finished his own sequel in 1615, it contained several disparaging references to the false Quixote. The honourable noblemen even meets a character originally invented by De Avelleneda (Don Alvaro Tarfe) and has him sign an affidavit that they have not met before. Although most critics have always dismissed De Avellenedas work, perhaps the many cross-references are exactly the reason that it is still not entirely forgotten as it was reprinted several times. In our online inventory we have a good example of this, a nicely illustrated Dutch translation published in 1718. forumrarebooks/Avellaneda-Alfonso-Fernando-Nieuwe-avantuuren-van-den-vroomen.html
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 14:54:25 +0000
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