Javier Marías

Javier Marías Franco (20 September 1951 – 11 September 2022) was a Spanish author, translator, and columnist. Marías published fifteen novels, including A Heart So White (Corazón tan blanco, 1992) and Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me (Mañana en la batalla piensa en mí, 1994). In addition to his novels, he also published three collections of short stories and various essays.

As one of Spain's most celebrated novelists, his books have been translated into forty-six languages and were sold close to nine million times internationally. He received several awards for his work, such as the Rómulo Gallegos Prize (1995), the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award (1997), the International Nonino Prize (2011), and the Austrian State Prize for European Literature (2011).

Marías studied philosophy and literature at the Complutense University of Madrid before going on to teach at several universities, including his alma mater, universities in Oxford and Venice, and Wellesley College in Massachusetts. In 1997, he was awarded the title of King of the Kingdom of Redonda by its predecessor Jon Wynne-Tyson for his understanding of the kingdom and for mentioning the story of one of its previous kings, John Gawsworth, in his novel All Souls (Todas las almas, 1989).

Javier Marías Franco was born in Madrid on 20 September 1951, as the fourth of five sons. His father was the philosopher Julián Marías, who was briefly imprisoned and then banned from teaching for opposing Franco (the father of the protagonist of Your Face Tomorrow was given a similar biography). His mother was the writer Dolores Franco Manera.

Marías was the fourth of five sons. Two of his siblings were art historian Fernando and film critic and economist Miguel. He was the nephew and cousin of, respectively, filmmakers Jesús "Jess" Franco and Ricardo Franco. Marías spent parts of his childhood in the United States, where his father taught at various institutions, including Yale University and Wellesley College.

His mother died when Javier was 26 years old. He was educated at the Colegio Estudio in Madrid. After having returned to Madrid, Marías studied philosophy and literary sciences at the Complutense University of Madrid from 1968 to 1973. From the 1970s onwards, he was involved in translating English literary works into the Spanish language. His first literary employment consisted of translating Dracula scripts for his maternal uncle, Jesús Franco.

Marías began writing in earnest at an early age. "The Life and Death of Marcelino Iturriaga", one of the short stories in While the Women are Sleeping (2010), was written when he was just 14. He ran away from home to write his first novel and went to live with his uncle in Paris. He began writing Los dominios del lobo (The Dominions of the Wolf), at the age of 17.

It was about an American family and according to him, it was written in the morning hours. The novel is dedicated to the Spanish author Juan Benet, who managed to compel the publisher Edhasa to print the book, and to Vicente Molina Foix, who provided him with the title. In later years he considered himself an "evening-time" writer. The novel Travesía del horizonte (Voyage Along the Horizon) was an adventure story about an expedition to Antarctica.

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