Miguel de Cervantes

In his early twenties novelist and poet Miguel de Cervantes served as a soldier in the Spanish navy. He was captured by Algerian corsairs in 1575 and kept hostage for five years, until ransomed by his parents and a Catholic religious order. In 1585, he published his first novel, La Galetea, but continued to support himself as a purveyor and tax collector. His break as an author came in 1605 with the publication of 'The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha' which became an immediate success and was later followed by a second part in 1615.