Cervantes was a soldier (1569) ; he lost his left hand in a battle , Lepante , in 1571 ; he was a slave in Algeria (1575 ) during five years , and last but not the least , he became a great writer when he went back in Spain in 1580 . He went in jail too, was married, and served the King Philippe II as a civil servant . His life was a book , and he lived his books and wrote masterpieces .