E.C. Riley puts Cervantes's theory of prose fiction into critical and historical context by setting it against those of contemporary and earlier writers. First published in 1962 by the Oxford University Press, this work by E. C. Riley, the esteemed Cervantes scholar and former Chair of Hispanic Studies at the University of Edinburgh, has undergone a number of updated editions. This is the most current edition, based on the 1968 revision, and emended in 1992 by the author.