Adelaida García Morales (1945, in

Badajoz Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portugal, Portuguese Portugal–Spain border, border, on the left bank of the river ...

, Spain – 22 September 2014, in

Dos Hermanas Dos Hermanas (, "two sisters") is a town and municipality in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It is part of the Seville metropolitan area, lying south of the city of Seville. With a population of 140,430 as of 2024, it is the second ...

, Spain) was a Spanish writer.

Life and work

Born in Badajoz, García Morales moved at the age of 13 to

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

, her parents' home town. She lived there for most of her youth. She went to university in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, obtaining a degree in philosophy and letters in 1970. She also studied screenwriting at the Escuela Oficial de Cine (State School of Cinematography). She then worked as a high school teacher, teaching Spanish and philosophy, and as a model and actress, forming part of the theatre group Esperpento. She also worked for a while as a translator in Algeria. Her first novel, ''Archipiélago'' was published in 1981, but success didn't come until 1985, when she published her acclaimed volume of two novellas: ''El sur, seguido de Bene''. The story ''El sur'' was made into a famous film by her then partner

Víctor Erice Víctor Erice Aras (; born 30 June 1940) is a Spanish film director. He is best known for his first two feature fiction films, '' The Spirit of the Beehive'' (1973), which many regard as one of the greatest Spanish films ever made, and '' El Sur' ...

, whom she had first met in 1972. Her next book, ''El silencio de las sirenas'', set in

Capileira Capileira is the highest and most northerly of the three villages in the gorge of the Poqueira river in the La Alpujarra district of the province of Granada, in Spain. It is located at latitude 36° 57' N and longitude 3° 21' W, about 1 km ...

(a village in the

Alpujarras The Alpujarra (, ) is a natural and historical region in Andalusia, Spain, on the south slopes of the Sierra Nevada and the adjacent valley. The average elevation is above sea level. It extends over two provinces, Granada and Almería; ...

where she had lived for five years in the late 1970s), was her most successful work, winning the

Premio Herralde The Premio Herralde is a Spanish literary prize A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations Most literary awar ...

and the Premio Ícaro. The principal theme of the novel: an obsessive, unrequited love, was said to be based on her own obsession with the philosopher Eugenio Trías, whom she had only met once. García Morales died of heart failure in 2014 in

, in the province of Seville.

Publications

Novels

*Archipiélago (1981), shortlisted for Premio Sésamo,1981 *El Sur y Bene (1985, Anagrama) – two novellas in one volume *El silencio de las sirenas (1985, Anagrama): Premio Herralde 1985 y Premio Ícaro 1985 *La lógica del vampiro (1990, Anagrama) *Las mujeres de Héctor (1994, Anagrama) *La tía Águeda (1995, Anagrama) *Nasmiya (1996, Plaza y Janés) *El accidente (1997, Anaya) *La señorita Medina (1997, Plaza y Janés) *El secreto de Elisa (1999, Debate) *Una historia perversa (2001, Planeta) *El testamento de Regina (2001, Debate)

Short stories

*Mujeres solas (1996, Plaza y Janés) *La carta. Cuento en Vidas de mujer (1998, Alianza) *El legado de Amparo. Cuento en Mujeres al alba (1999, Alfaguara) *La mirada. Cuento en Don Juan. Relatos (2008, 451 Editores)

Translations into English

*The silence of the sirens, tr. C. Hayter (1989) *The South & Bene, tr. Sarah Marsh (1992) *The South & Bene, tr. Thomas G. Deveny (1999) Her short story ''El encuentro (A Chance Encounter)'' was included in ''Rainy Days - Días de lluvia: Short Stories by Contemporary Spanish Women Writers'', an anthology edited by Montserrat Lunati, together with a translation into English. ''Rainy Days - Días de lluvia: Short Stories by Contemporary Spanish Women Writers'' edited by Montserrat Lunati. Aris and Phillips Hispanic Classics, 2018 .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia Morales, Adelaida Spanish novelists 1945 births 2014 deaths