Javier MarÃas Franco (20 September 1951 – 11 September 2022) was a Spanish author, translator, and columnist. MarÃas published fifteen novels, including ''
A Heart So White'' (''Corazón tan blanco,'' 1992'')'', ''
Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me'' (''Mañana en la batalla piensa en mÃ,'' 1994) and the ''Your Face Tomorrow'' trilogy, widely regarded as his greatest achievement.
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 sold close to nine million copies 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).
MarÃas 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
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
. 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).
Life
Javier MarÃas Franco was born 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 ...
on 20 September 1951.
His father was the philosopher
Julián MarÃas,
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 .
MarÃas was the fourth of five sons.
Two of his siblings were art historian and film critic and economist .
He was the nephew and cousin of, respectively, filmmakers
Jesús "Jess" Franco and
Ricardo Franco.
MarÃas spent parts of his childhood in the United States, where his father taught at various institutions, including
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
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, MarÃas 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.
Writing
MarÃas 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 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 ''TravesÃa del horizonte'' (''Voyage Along the Horizon'') was an adventure story about an expedition to Antarctica.
His translations included work by
Updike,
Hardy,
Conrad,
Nabokov,
Faulkner,
James,
Stevenson, and
Browne. In 1979, he won the Spanish national award for translation for his version of
Sterne's ''
Tristram Shandy''.
Between 1983 and 1985, MarÃas lectured in Spanish literature and translation at the
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
.
In 1986, MarÃas published ''El hombre sentimental'' (''The Man of Feeling''), and in 1989 he published ''Todas las almas'' (''All Souls''),
which was set at Oxford University. The Spanish film director
Gracia Querejeta released ''El Último viaje de Robert Rylands'' (''
Robert Rylands' Last Journey''), adapted from ''Todas las almas'', in 1996.
His 1992 novel ''
Corazón tan blanco'' is centered on Juan, a translator for the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
(UN), and its English version ''A Heart So White'' was translated by
Margaret Jull Costa. It was received well by the literary critics and won the
Spanish Critics Award.
MarÃas and Costa were joint winners of the 1997
International Dublin Literary Award. In his 1994 novel, ''Mañana en la batalla piensa en mÃ'', the protagonist is a ghostwriter.
The protagonists of the novels written since 1986 are all interpreters or translators of one kind or another, based on his own experience as a translator and teacher of translation at Oxford University. Of these protagonists, MarÃas wrote, "They are people who are renouncing their own voices."
In 2002 MarÃas published ''Tu rostro mañana 1. Fiebre y lanza'' (''Your Face Tomorrow 1: Fever and Spear''), the first part of a trilogy which was his most ambitious literary project. The first volume is dominated by a translator, an elderly don based on an actual professor emeritus of Spanish studies at Oxford University,
Sir Peter Russell. The second volume, ''Tu rostro mañana 2. Baile y sueño'' (''Your Face Tomorrow 2: Dance and Dream''), was published in 2004. In 2007, MarÃas completed the final installment, ''Tu rostro mañana 3. Veneno y sombra y adiós'' (''Your Face Tomorrow 3: Poison, Shadow and Farewell''). In 2009, the trilogy was published as one single volume.
It was followed by the novel ''Los enamoramientos'' (''
The Infatuations'') in 2011, a story about a woman drawn into a murder mystery. The novel won the state-run
National novel prize, but MarÃas rejected the award saying he did not want to be indebted to a government of any kind.
He also was a regular contributor to ''
El PaÃs,'' whose editor-in-chief
Pepa Bueno lamented his death and called it a sad day for Spanish literature. In 2005–2006, an English version of his column, "La Zona Fantasma", appeared in the monthly magazine ''
The Believer.''
Redonda
After having been awarded the title, King of Redonda, he was also known as Xavier I.
and, from 2000 onwards, MarÃas operated a small publishing house under the name of ''Reino de Redonda''. Its first book of the publishing house was ''La mujer de Huguenin'' by the first King of Redondo and author
M. P. Shiel.
MarÃas's novel, ''Todas las almas'' (''All Souls''), included a portrayal of the poet
John Gawsworth, who was also the third
King of Redonda. Although the fate of this monarchy after the death of Gawsworth is contested, the portrayal by MarÃas so affected the "reigning" king,
Jon Wynne-Tyson, that he abdicated and left the throne to MarÃas in 1997. This course of events was chronicled in his "false novel," ''Negra espalda del tiempo'' (''Dark Back of Time''). The book was inspired by the reception of ''Todas las almas'' by many people who, falsely according to MarÃas, believed they were the source of the characters in ''Todas las almas''. After "taking the throne" of
Redonda, MarÃas began a publishing imprint named ''Reino de Redonda'' ("Kingdom of Redonda").
MarÃas conferred many titles during his reign upon people he liked, including upon
Pedro Almodóvar
Pedro Almodóvar Caballero (; born 25 September 1949) is a Spanish film director, screenwriter and author. His films are distinguished by Melodrama (film genre), melodrama, irreverent humour, bold colour, glossy décor, quotations from popular c ...
(Duke of Trémula),
António Lobo Antunes (Duke of Cocodrilos),
John Ashbery (Duke of Convexo),
Pierre Bourdieu
Pierre Bourdieu (, ; ; ; 1 August 1930 – 23 January 2002) was a French sociologist and public intellectual. Bourdieu's contributions to the sociology of education, the theory of sociology, and sociology of aesthetics have achieved wide influ ...
(Duke of Desarraigo),
William Boyd (Duke of Brazzaville),
[ Michel Braudeau (Duke of Miranda), A. S. Byatt (Duchess of Morpho Eugenia),][ Guillermo Cabrera Infante (Duke of Tigres), Pietro Citati (Duke of Remonstranza), ]Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola ( ; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...
(Duke of Megalópolis),[ AgustÃn DÃaz Yanes (Duke of MichelÃn), Roger Dobson (Duke of Bridaespuela), Frank Gehry (Duke of Nervión), Francis Haskell (Duke of Sommariva), Eduardo Mendoza (Duke of Isla Larga), Ian Michael (Duke of Bernal), Orhan Pamuk (Duke of Colores), Arturo Pérez-Reverte (Duke of Corso), Francisco Rico (Duke of Parezzo), Sir Peter Russell (Duke of Plazatoro), Fernando Savater (Duke of Caronte), W. G. Sebald (Duke of Vértigo),] Jonathan Coe (Duke of Prunes), Luis Antonio de Villena (Duke of Malmundo), and Juan Villoro (Duke of Nochevieja).
Premio Reino de Redonda
MarÃas created a literary prize, the Premio Reino de Redonda to be judged by the dukes and duchesses. The jury was of extraordinary prominence, comprising the dukes mentioned below and other figures such as Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola ( ; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...
.[Wood, Gareth (2012), p. 36.] In addition to prize money, the winners, listed below, received a duchy:
*2001 – J. M. Coetzee
John Maxwell Coetzee Order of Australia, AC Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, FRSL Order of Mapungubwe, OMG (born 9 February 1940) is a South African and Australian novelist, essayist, linguist, and translator. The recipient of the 2003 ...
(Duke of Deshonra)
*2002 – John H. Elliott (Duke of Simancas)
*2003 – Claudio Magris (Duke of Segunda Mano)
*2004 – Éric Rohmer
Jean Marie Maurice Schérer or Maurice Henri Joseph Schérer, known as Éric Rohmer (; 21 March 192011 January 2010), was a French film director, film critic, journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and teacher. Rohmer was the last of the Post-war, p ...
(Duke of Olalla)
*2005 – Alice Munro (Duchess of Ontario)
*2006 – Ray Bradbury
Ray Douglas Bradbury ( ; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, Horror fiction, horr ...
(Duke of Diente de León)
*2007 – George Steiner (Duke of Girona)
*2008 – Umberto Eco (Duke of la Isla del DÃa de Antes)
*2009 – Marc Fumaroli (Duke of Houyhnhnms)
*2010 – Milan Kundera
*2011 – Ian McEwan (Duke of the black dogs)
Death
MarÃas died of pneumonia caused by Covid-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
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 ...
on 11 September 2022, at the age of 70. The Spanish novelist Eduardo Mendoza remembered him as the best writer in Spain at the time of his death, and one who wrote female characters the best.
Awards and honours
* 1979: (Germanic languages) for '' Tristram Shandy''
* 1986: Premio Herralde for ''El hombre sentimental''
* 1989: (Spanish literature, narrative) for ''Todas las almas''
* 1992: Premio de la CrÃtica Española
* 1995: Romulo Gallegos Prize for ''Mañana en la batalla piensa en mÃ'' (''Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me'')
* 1995: Fastenrath Award (Real Academia Española) for ''Mañana en la batalla piensa en mÃ''
* 1996: Prix Femina étranger for ''Demain dans la bataille pense à moi'' (''Mañana en la batalla piensa en mÃ'')
* 1997: Nelly Sachs Prize
* 1997: International Dublin Literary Award for '' A Heart So White''
* 2000: Grinzane Cavour Prize
* 2008: MarÃas was elected to Seat ''R'' of the Real Academia Española
The Royal Spanish Academy (, ; ) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated with national language academies in 22 other Hispanopho ...
on 29 June 2006. He took up his seat on 27 April 2008. At his investiture he agreed with Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...
that the work of novelists is "pretty childish," but also argued that it is impossible to narrate real events, and that "you can only fully tell stories about what has never happened, the invented and imagined."
* 2010: America Award for a lifetime contribution to international writing
* 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
The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...
International Writer
Works
All English translations by Margaret Jull Costa unless otherwise indicated.
Novels
* ''Los dominios del lobo'' (1971)
* ''TravesÃa del horizonte'' (1973). ''Voyage Along the Horizon'', translated by Kristina Cordero ( McSweeney's, 2006)
* ''El monarca del tiempo'' (1978)
* ''El siglo'' (1983)
* ''El hombre sentimental'' (1986). ''The Man of Feeling'' (U.S.: New Directions/UK: The Harvill Press, 2003)
* ''Todas las almas'' (1989). ''All Souls'' (The Harvill Press, 1992; New Directions, 2000)
*''Corazón tan blanco'' (1992). '' A Heart So White'' (The Harvill Press, 1995; New Directions, 2002)
* ''Mañana en la batalla piensa en mÃ'' (1994). '' Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me'' (The Harvill Press, 1996; New Directions, 2001)
*''Negra espalda del tiempo'' (1998). '' Dark Back of Time'', translated by Esther Allen (New Directions, 2001; Chatto & Windus, 2003)
*''Tu rostro mañana 1. Fiebre y lanza'' (2002). '' Your Face Tomorrow 1: Fever and Spear'' (U.S.: New Directions/UK: Chatto & Windus, 2005)
* ''Tu rostro mañana 2. Baile y sueño'' (2004). '' Your Face Tomorrow 2: Dance and Dream'' (U.S.: New Directions/UK: Chatto & Windus, 2006)
* ''Tu rostro mañana 3. Veneno y sombra y adiós'' (2007). '' Your Face Tomorrow 3: Poison, Shadow and Farewell'' (U.S.: New Directions/UK: Chatto & Windus, 2009)
* ''Los enamoramientos'' (2011). '' The Infatuations'' (U.S.: Knopf/UK: Hamish Hamilton, 2013)
* ''Asà empieza lo malo'' (2014). ''Thus Bad Begins'' (U.S.: Knopf/UK: Hamish Hamilton, 2016)
* ''Berta Isla'' (2017). ''Berta Isla'' (US: Knopf/UK: Hamish Hamilton, 2018)
* ''Tomás Nevinson'' (2021)
Novellas and short stories
* ''Mientras ellas duermen'' (1990). ''While the Women Are Sleeping'' (U.S.: New Directions/UK: Chatto & Windus, 2010)
* ''Cuando fui mortal'' (1996). '' When I Was Mortal'' (The Harvill Press, 1999; New Directions, 2000)
* ''Mala Ãndole'' (1996). ''Bad Nature, or With Elvis in Mexico'', translated by Esther Allen (New Directions, 2010)
Anthologies
* ''Between Eternities & Other Writings'' (U.S.: Penguin/UK: Hamish Hamilton, 2017). Later compiled in Spanish as ''Entre Eternidades. Y otros escritos'' (2018)
Nonfiction
* ''Vidas escritas'' (1992). '' Written Lives'' (U.S.: New Directions/UK: Canongate, 2006). Multiple short literary biographies.
* ''Venice, an interior'' (2016) (London: Penguin Books, 2016)"Venice, an interior"
WorldCat.
Notes
References
Further reading
* Berg, Karen, ''Javier MarÃas's Postmodern Praxis: Humor and Interplay Between Reality and Fiction in His Novels and Essays'' (2008)
Doctoral dissertation (2006)
later published as book (2012 ed.))
* Cunado, Isabel,
' (2004).
* Herzberger, David K. ''A Companion to Javier MarÃas''. Rochester, NY: Tamesis Books, 2011.
*
External links
*
* Chelsea Bauch
"Exclusive Q&A: Spanish Author Javier MarÃas"
30 November 2009.
"Airships"
(translated by Margaret Jull Costa), ''Granta'' 107, Summer 2009.
"Javier MarÃas"
BBC ''HardTalk Extra'', 3 March 2006. Video
* Wyatt Mason
"A Man Who Wasn't There"
''The New Yorker'', 14 November 2005.
"Feeling London's bombs in Madrid"
''The New York Times'', 11 July 2005.
* Sarah Emily Miano
''The Observer'', 8 May 2005.
''The New York Times'', 11 September 2004.
''Barcelona Review'', No. 15, November 1999.
"The Limits of Human Memory: On Proust and Javier MarÃas"
''The Quarterly Conversation'', Issue 17.
* John M. Keller
Dr. Cicero, Spring 2021.
{{DEFAULTSORT:MarÃas, Javier
1951 births
2022 deaths
20th-century Spanish male writers
20th-century Spanish novelists
20th-century Spanish translators
21st-century Spanish male writers
21st-century Spanish novelists
21st-century translators
Complutense University of Madrid alumni
Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain
El PaÃs columnists
English–Spanish translators
Members of the Royal Spanish Academy
Micronational leaders
Prix Femina Étranger winners
Spanish male novelists
Writers from Madrid