Javier Marías facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Javier Marías
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Marías in 2008
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| Born | Javier Marías Franco 20 September 1951 Madrid, Spain |
| Died | 11 September 2022 (aged 70) Madrid, Spain |
| Occupation |
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| Notable works | All Souls, A Heart So White, Tomorrow In The Battle Think On Me, Your Face Tomorrow |
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| Seat R of the Real Academia Española | |
| In office 27 April 2008 – 11 September 2022 |
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| Preceded by | Fernando Lázaro Carreter |
| Succeeded by | vacant |
Javier Marías Franco (born September 20, 1951 – died September 11, 2022) was a famous Spanish writer, translator, and newspaper columnist.
He wrote fifteen novels, including A Heart So White (Corazón tan blanco) and Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me (Mañana en la batalla piensa en mí). He also published short stories and essays. Javier Marías was one of Spain's most celebrated novelists. His books have been translated into 46 languages and sold nearly nine million copies worldwide. He won many awards for his work, such as the Rómulo Gallegos Prize (1995) and the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award (1997).
Marías studied philosophy and literature at the Complutense University of Madrid. He later taught at universities in Oxford, Venice, and Wellesley College in Massachusetts. In 1997, he was given the title of King of the Kingdom of Redonda. This happened because he understood the kingdom's history and wrote about one of its past kings, John Gawsworth, in his novel All Souls (Todas las almas).
Contents
Life of Javier Marías
Javier Marías Franco was born in Madrid, Spain, on September 20, 1951. He was the fourth of five sons. His father, Julián Marías, was a philosopher who was briefly put in prison and then not allowed to teach. This was because he disagreed with the government at the time. Javier's mother, Dolores Franco Manera, was also a writer.
Javier spent parts of his childhood in the United States. His father taught at places like Yale University and Wellesley College. Javier's mother passed away when he was 26 years old. He went to school at the Colegio Estudio in Madrid. From 1968 to 1973, he studied philosophy and literature at the Complutense University of Madrid.
Starting in the 1970s, he began translating English books into Spanish. His first job as a translator was translating Dracula scripts for his uncle, Jesús Franco.
How He Became a Writer
Marías started writing very early. One of his short stories, "The Life and Death of Marcelino Iturriaga," was written when he was only 14. He even ran away from home to write his first novel! He went to live with his uncle in Paris.
He started writing Los dominios del lobo (The Dominions of the Wolf) when he was 17. This book was about an American family. He said he wrote it in the mornings. Later in life, he preferred to write in the evenings.
His translations included works by famous authors like Updike, Hardy, and Conrad. In 1979, he won a Spanish national award for translating Tristram Shandy by Sterne. From 1983 to 1985, he taught Spanish literature and translation at the University of Oxford.
In 1986, Marías published El hombre sentimental (The Man of Feeling). In 1989, he published Todas las almas (All Souls), which was set at Oxford University. A Spanish film director, Gracia Querejeta, made a movie called El Último viaje de Robert Rylands (Robert Rylands' Last Journey) based on Todas las almas in 1996.
His 1992 novel, Corazón tan blanco, is about a translator for the United Nations (UN). The English version, A Heart So White, was translated by Margaret Jull Costa. It was very popular with critics and won the Spanish Critics Award. Marías and Costa both won the 1997 International Dublin Literary Award for it.
Many of the main characters in his novels written after 1986 are translators or interpreters. This was based on his own experiences. Marías said these characters are "people who are giving up their own voices."
In 2002, Marías started his biggest writing project: a trilogy called Tu rostro mañana (Your Face Tomorrow). The first part was Fiebre y lanza (Fever and Spear). The second part, Baile y sueño (Dance and Dream), came out in 2004. He finished the last part, Veneno y sombra y adiós (Poison, Shadow and Farewell), in 2007. The whole trilogy was published as one book in 2009.
His 2011 novel, Los enamoramientos (The Infatuations), is about a woman who gets involved in a murder mystery. This novel won the state-run National novel prize. However, Marías turned down the award. He said he didn't want to owe anything to any government.
He also wrote regularly for the newspaper El País. From 2005 to 2006, an English version of his column, "La Zona Fantasma," appeared in The Believer magazine.
King of Redonda
After being given the title of King of Redonda, Javier Marías was also known as Xavier I. Starting in 2000, Marías ran a small publishing company called Reino de Redonda (Kingdom of Redonda).
His novel, Todas las almas (All Souls), included a character based on the poet John Gawsworth. Gawsworth was also the third King of Redonda. The "reigning" king at the time, Jon Wynne-Tyson, was so impressed by Marías's book that he gave up his throne to Marías in 1997. Marías wrote about this in his "false novel," Negra espalda del tiempo (Dark Back of Time).
As "King" of Redonda, Marías gave many special titles to people he liked. These included famous people like Pedro Almodóvar (Duke of Trémula), Francis Ford Coppola (Duke of Megalópolis), and Orhan Pamuk (Duke of Colores).
Redonda Prize
Marías also created a special literary award called the Premio Reino de Redonda. The judges for this prize were the "dukes and duchesses" he had given titles to. The winners received prize money and a new "duchy" title.
Some of the winners included:
- 2001 – John Maxwell Coetzee (Duke of Deshonra)
- 2002 – John H. Elliott (Duke of Simancas)
- 2003 – Claudio Magris (Duke of Segunda Mano)
- 2004 – Éric Rohmer (Duke of Olalla)
- 2005 – Alice Munro (Duchess of Ontario)
- 2006 – Ray Bradbury (Duke of Diente de León)
- 2007 – George Steiner (Duke of Girona)
- 2008 – Umberto Eco (Duke of la Isla del Día de Antes)
- 2009 – Marc Fumaroli (Duke of Houyhnhnms)
- 2010 – Milan Kundera
- 2011 – Ian McEwan (Duke of the black dogs)
Death
Javier Marías passed away from pneumonia caused by Covid-19 in Madrid on September 11, 2022. He was 70 years old. The Spanish novelist Eduardo Mendoza said that Marías was the best writer in Spain at that time. He also said that Marías wrote female characters especially well.
Awards and Honours
- 1979: Fray Luis de León Translation Award for Tristram Shandy
- 1986: Premio Herralde for El hombre sentimental
- 1989: Barcelona City Award for Todas las almas
- 1992: Premio de la Crítica Española
- 1995: Romulo Gallegos Prize for Mañana en la batalla piensa en mí
- 1995: Fastenrath Award for Mañana en la batalla piensa en mí
- 1996: Prix Femina étranger for Demain dans la bataille pense à moi
- 1997: Nelly Sachs Prize
- 1997: International Dublin Literary Award for A Heart So White
- 2000: Grinzane Cavour Prize
- 2008: Marías was chosen for Seat R of the Real Academia Española (Royal Spanish Academy) on June 29, 2006. He officially joined on April 27, 2008.
- 2011: International Nonino Prize in Italy
- 2011: Austrian State Prize for European Literature
- 2013: Prix Formentor
- 2013: National Book Critics Circle Award (fiction) shortlist for The Infatuations
- 2017: LIBAR 2017 Award for the most outstanding Hispano-American author.
- 2021: Elected a Royal Society of Literature International Writer
Works
All English translations are by Margaret Jull Costa unless noted.
Novels
- Los dominios del lobo (1971)
- Travesía del horizonte (1973). Voyage Along the Horizon, translated by Kristina Cordero (2006)
- El monarca del tiempo (1978)
- El siglo (1983)
- El hombre sentimental (1986). The Man of Feeling (2003)
- Todas las almas (1989). All Souls (1992)
- Corazón tan blanco (1992). A Heart So White (1995)
- Mañana en la batalla piensa en mí (1994). Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me (1996)
- Negra espalda del tiempo (1998). Dark Back of Time, translated by Esther Allen (2001)
- Tu rostro mañana 1. Fiebre y lanza (2002). Your Face Tomorrow 1: Fever and Spear (2005)
- Tu rostro mañana 2. Baile y sueño (2004). Your Face Tomorrow 2: Dance and Dream (2006)
- Tu rostro mañana 3. Veneno y sombra y adiós (2007). Your Face Tomorrow 3: Poison, Shadow and Farewell (2009)
- Los enamoramientos (2011). The Infatuations (2013)
- Así empieza lo malo (2014). Thus Bad Begins (2016)
- Berta Isla (2017). Berta Isla (2018)
- Tomás Nevinson (2021)
Novellas and short stories
- Mientras ellas duermen (1990). While the Women Are Sleeping (2010)
- Cuando fui mortal (1996). When I Was Mortal (1999)
- Mala índole (1996). Bad Nature, or With Elvis in Mexico, translated by Esther Allen (2010)
Anthologies
- Between Eternities & Other Writings (2017). Later compiled in Spanish as Entre Eternidades. Y otros escritos (2018)
Nonfiction
- Vidas escritas (1992). Written Lives (2006). (Literary biographies)
- Venice, an interior (2016)
See also
In Spanish: Javier Marías para niños
