Exemplary Stories

work by Cervantes

Also known as: “Novelas ejemplares”, “Novelas exemplares”

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July 16, 2026

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The Novelas ejemplares, or Exemplary Stories, is a collection of short stories published in 1613 by Miguel de Cervantes. Cervantes claimed to be the first to write short stories in the Italian style in Spanish, distinguishing between narratives that are interesting for their action and those whose merit lies in their telling. These stories are distinct from parables, which are short narratives designed to teach a moral or religious lesson. Cervantes' Exemplary Stories explore various themes and narrative techniques, contributing to the development of the short story genre in Spanish literature.123

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Miguel de Cervantes
Publication of Don Quixote
The next year, the 12 Exemplary Stories were published. The prologue contains the only known verbal portrait of the author:
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The next year, the 12 Exemplary Stories were published. The prologue contains the only known verbal portrait of the author:
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short story
Spreading popularity
Miguel de Cervantes’ experimental Novelas ejemplares (1613; “Exemplary Novels”). Cervantes’ short fictions vary in style and seriousness, but their single concern is clear: to explore the nature of man’s secular existence. This focus was somewhat new for short fiction, heretofore either didactic or escapist.
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Miguel de Cervantes’ experimental Novelas ejemplares (1613; “Exemplary Novels”). Cervantes’ short fictions vary in style and seriousness, but their single concern is clear: to explore the nature of man’s secular existence. This focus was somewhat new for short fiction, heretofore either didactic or escapist.
Read More

Spanish literature
The novel
In the Novelas ejemplares (1613; “Exemplary Tales”), Cervantes claimed to be the first to write novelas (short stories in the Italian manner) in Spanish, differentiating between narratives that interest for their action and those whose merit lies in the mode of telling.
Read More
In the Novelas ejemplares (1613; “Exemplary Tales”), Cervantes claimed to be the first to write novelas (short stories in the Italian manner) in Spanish, differentiating between narratives that interest for their action and those whose merit lies in the mode of telling.
Read More