Creator of Don Quixote: Cervantes

Not Just the Tudors

History Hit

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4.8 • 3K Ratings

🗓️ 3 April 2023

⏱️ 42 minutes

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Summary

In the early 17th century, an aged veteran of Spain's wars against the Ottoman Empire published a book. It was the story of a poor nobleman who deludes himself that he is a knight errant and sets off on hilarious adventures. Don Quixote went on to sell more copies than any other book beside the Bible, making its author Cervantes the single most-read author in human history.

In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to William Egginton, author of The Man Who Invented Fiction: How Cervantes ushered in the Modern World. Together they explore Cervantes's life and the world he lived in, how his influences converged in his work, and how Don Quixote radically changed the nature of literature and created a new way of viewing the world.

This episode was edited and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Born in 1547, Spanish writer Miguel de Sarvantez lived much of his life in hardship.
0:15.3	He served in the Spanish Navy from the age of 23, was wounded in battle, and after five
0:21.2	years of service was captured by pirates who held him hoping for ransom for five years.
0:28.0	He earned his living not as an author, but as a soldier, accountant and tax collector.
0:34.4	In 1605, at 58 years old, Sarvantez would see the first part of his masterwork, the
0:41.0	ingenious gentleman Don Gujote of Le Mancha, published.
0:46.0	Along with its second part published in 1615, the novel would become a near-instant
0:51.1	success.
0:52.8	Inspiring music by Strauss, Art by Picasso, as well as countless other writers from
0:57.6	Mark Twain to Charles Dickens, Gustaf Flogbaer to Tennessee Williams, Vladimir Novakov to
1:03.6	Saman Rushdie.
1:05.0	Don Gujote has been translated into more than 50 languages, and is the best-selling,
1:10.5	non-religious text of all time.
1:13.3	Joining me today is William Egenton, author, philosopher, literary scholar and professor
1:19.8	at Johns Hopkins University.
1:22.3	His book, The Man Who Invented Fiction, takes us behind the life of the author to
1:27.4	discover the inspiration, impact and legacy of this extraordinary 17th century novel.
1:33.8	This is the book we'll be discussing today, but William Egenton is also the author of,
1:39.6	What Would Sarvantez Do Written with David Arcastillo, and his next book, which comes out
1:45.2	this summer, is The Rigger of Angels, Borges, Heisenberg, Kant and the Ultimate Nature of
1:51.6	Reality.
1:53.0	We're not showing away from the big questions today, folks.
	...

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