The 'found manuscript' trick is centuries oldSourced
The author says: I didn't write it.
I translated an old manuscript.
Don Quixote uses the 'found manuscript' device: Cervantes presents much of the tale as a translation from an Arabic text by a historian who never existed. The supposed source becomes part of the fiction itself.
The story begins
before its first scene.
Summary / translation: Unbubly · CC BY-SA 4.0
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Found manuscript · Wikimedia contributors
Adapted, summarized and translated from the source. Adapted text is also available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Reviewed: 2026-10-01