Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616) was one of the greatest Spanish writers. Little is known about his upbringing and education, although it is believed he was registered in the school of Spanish humanist Juan López de Hoyos, in Madrid, where he studied literature. As a young adult, Cervantes joined the Spanish military where he was severely wounded in battle. In 1575, he and his brother were captured by pirates and held captive for five years. In 1605, Cervantes published the first part of Don Quixote, which became the world’s first bestseller, and is widely regarded as the first modern novel. The second part of Don Quixote was plagiarized by a fellow writer, and in 1614, Cervantes released the real volume two of Don Quixote. Though he achieved fame from his novels, but not wealth, Cervantes remained a prolific writer throughout his life. His works also include the Exemplary Novels, La Galatea, Los Trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda, numerous poems, and eight full-length plays.

Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) was an Irish author and satirist. After receiving a doctor of divinity degree from Trinity College, Dublin, Swift went on to publish numerous books, essays, pamphlets, and poems, many of which express his political allegiance to the Tories. In addition to being a literary and political writer, Swift was dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin.

Herman Melville (1819–1891) was born in New York City and worked as a bank clerk and a schoolteacher before joining the crew of the whaler Acushnet on its voyage from Massachusetts to the South Pacific. Melville jumped ship in the Marquesas Islands, an experience memorably recounted in his bestselling autobiographical novel Typee. Much of his later work, including Moby-Dick and the classic novellas Bartleby, the Scrivener and Benito Cereno, was not well received during his lifetime, but Melville is now considered one of the nineteenth century’s most innovative and important authors.

Johnston McCulley (1883–1958) was a pulp writer best known for creating the character Zorro. A former reporter, McCulley published stories of adventure and romance in magazines like Argosy. He introduced Zorro in the 1919 story “The Curse of Capistrano,” later republished as The Mark of Zorro, and continued to feature him in his writing into the 1950s.

Once of the most famous French writers of the nineteenth century, Alexandre Dumas (1802–1870) is best remembered for his novels The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo,and The Man in the Iron Mask. These books have sold millions of copies worldwide. Less