John Yorke explores why Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes has had such a profound influence on storytelling in the 400 years since it was published in 1605.

‘Like Shakespeare, Cervantes is inescapable for all writers who have come after him,’ according to literary critic Harold Bloom. He creates a blueprint for the modern novel by shifting from static, infallible archetypes to dynamic, evolving characters who are fundamentally changed by their relationship with each other. Cervantes’ work is full of innovative literary ideas that still inspire writers today, including the double-act (Quixote and his portly sidekick, Sancho Panza), a multi-voiced narrative structure and the first example of metafiction, in which the line between fiction and reality is blurred.

The programme includes an interview with film director, cartoonist and Monty Python member Terry Gilliam, who spent nearly 30 years attempting to make a film about Don Quixote. He says, “You can never kill Quixote. There is no way. Quixote will be eternal. And I certainly hope that people will keep rediscovering him, because I think you can read it many times and discover new things every time. It's spectacular. I just want to get a fireplace and start reading it to my grandchildren of a cold evening. One chapter a night.”

Also including contributions from Isabel Torres, Professor of Spanish Golden Age Literature at Queen’s University, Belfast. Quotations from Penguin Classics 2003 edition, translation by John Rutherford.

John Yorke has worked in television and radio for over 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories dramatised in BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain; from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. He created the BBC Writers Academy and trained a generation of screenwriters, now with thousands of hours of television to their names. His acclaimed books Into the Woods and Trip to the Moon explore the structure and power of narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of storytelling, including many podcasts for Radio 4.

Producer: Mary Ward-Lowery

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4