The famous maid

Author's name: Cervantes

This novel is based on a sentimental tale and a kind of novelistic tradition known at the time, which searched for a noble origin within the poor, shabby soul, with no trace of it except in a buried family heirloom or an impossible story. Here, the work appears as a kind of rosy novel about impossible relationships, class differences, and happy endings. Costanza, the novel's heroine and main driver, with her strange secret and lavish beauty, is an image of the human desire for perfection in all things, not only in images, but also in intentions, self-esteem, conviction, and tolerance. Cervantes's works are among the most widely read, printed, translated, and studied books in the world. Indeed, for critics and a wide segment of readers, Cervantes is considered the first humanist writer and the greatest novelist in the history of literature. His writings remain closely connected to our dreams, aspirations, and even our repeated losses. Cervantes's works are true journeys that do not end with their publication, but rather remain active and alive even if long periods of time pass and human nature and times change. This novel is part of a special project of his twelve short novels, which we present sequentially and in independent books, one after the other. Cervantes wrote them over separate periods and published them in 1613. We translate them and introduce them to the Arab reader as an important sample of the works of the author of the global masterpiece (Don Quixote), novels that are no less magnificent than his larger work.