Perhaps Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547-1616) could write so convincingly of both the Don and Sancho because he was a bit of both himself. Crippled at the naval battle of Lepanto, he was later captured by pirates and put to work as a galley slave. Ransomed from captivity, he turned to writing. He had a popular success with Don Quixote, but earned little money from the book. According to tradition, he died on the same day as William Shakespeare.