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.[6] 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 Marías Franco was born in
Madrid on 20 September 1951.[7][8][9][10] His father was the philosopher
Julián Marías,[10] 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[11]). His mother was the writer
Dolores Franco Manera [
es].[12] Marías was the fourth of five sons.[13] Two of his siblings were art historian
Fernando [
es] and film critic and economist
Miguel [
es].[12] He was the nephew and cousin of, respectively, filmmakers
Jesús "Jess" Franco and
Ricardo Franco.[12] 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.[14] From the 1970s onwards, he was involved in translating English literary works into the Spanish language.[15] His first literary employment consisted of translating Dracula scripts for his maternal uncle, Jesús Franco.[16][17]
Writing
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.[18] He ran away from home to write his first novel and went to live with his uncle in Paris.[13] He began writing Los dominios del lobo (The Dominions of the Wolf), at the age of 17.[19] It was about an American family[19] and according to him, it was written in the morning hours.[20] The novel is dedicated to the Spanish author
Juan Benet, who managed to compel the publisher
Edhasa [
es] to print the book, and to
Vicente Molina Foix, who provided him with the title.[20] In later years he considered himself an "evening-time" writer.[20] The novel Travesía del horizonte (Voyage Along the Horizon) was an adventure story about an expedition to Antarctica.[21][22]
In 1986, Marías published El hombre sentimental (The Man of Feeling), and in 1989 he published Todas las almas (All Souls),[26] 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.[27]
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, Marías wrote, "They are people who are renouncing their own voices."[13]
In 2002 Marías 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, Marías completed the final installment, Tu rostro mañana 3. Veneno y sombra y adiós (Your Face Tomorrow 3: Poison, Shadow and Farewell).[32] 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 Marías rejected the award saying he did not want to be indebted to a government of any kind.[33]
He also was a regular contributor to El País, whose editor-in-chief
Pepa Bueno lamented his death and called it a sad day for Spanish literature.[34] In 2005–2006, an English version of his column, "La Zona Fantasma", appeared in the monthly magazine The Believer.[35]
After having been awarded the title, King of Redonda, he was also known as Xavier I.[36] and, from 2000 onwards, Marías operated a small publishing house under the name of Reino de Redonda.[37] Its first book of the publishing house was La mujer de Huguenin by the first King of Redondo and author
M. P. Shiel.[36] Marías'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 Marías so affected the "reigning" king,
Jon Wynne-Tyson, that he abdicated and left the throne to Marías 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 Marías, believed they were the source of the characters in Todas las almas.[38] After "taking the throne" of
Redonda, Marías began a publishing imprint named Reino de Redonda ("Kingdom of Redonda").[39]
Marías created a literary prize, the
Premio Reino de Redonda to be judged by the dukes and duchesses. The jury was of extraordinary prominence,[36] comprising the dukes mentioned below and other figures such as
Francis Ford Coppola.[42] In addition to prize money, the winners, listed below, received a duchy:
Marías died of pneumonia caused by
Covid-19 in
Madrid on 11 September 2022, at the age of 70.[51][7][8][52] The Spanish novelist
Eduardo Mendoza remembered him as the best writer in Spain at the time of his death,[4] and one who wrote female characters the best.[53]
2008: Marías was elected to Seat R of the
Real Academia Española on 29 June 2006. He took up his seat on 27 April 2008.[59] At his investiture he agreed with
Robert Louis Stevenson 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."[60]
2010:
America Award for a lifetime contribution to international writing[61]
Mientras ellas duermen (1990). While the Women Are Sleeping (U.S.: New Directions/UK: Chatto & Windus, 2010)[82]
Cuando fui mortal (1996). When I Was Mortal (The Harvill Press, 1999; New Directions, 2000)[83]
Mala índole (1996). Bad Nature, or With Elvis in Mexico, translated by
Esther Allen (New Directions, 2010)[84]
Anthologies
Between Eternities & Other Writings (U.S.: Penguin/UK: Hamish Hamilton, 2017). Later compiled in Spanish as Entre Eternidades. Y otros escritos (2018)[85]
Nonfiction
Vidas escritas (1992). Written Lives (U.S.: New Directions/UK: Canongate, 2006). Literary biography.[86]
Venice, an interior (2016) (London: Penguin Books, 2016)[87]
^Piqueras, José A. (1 January 2001).
"El juego de la ventriloquía política" (in Spanish). El País. Archived from
the original on 3 December 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2020. En la memorable novela Mañana en la batalla piensa en mí, Javier Marías crea un personaje, protagonista de la trama, que convierte en escritor y ejerce de negro literario
Berg, Karen, Javier Marías's Postmodern Praxis: Humor and Interplay Between Reality and Fiction in His Novels and Essays (2008) (
Doctoral dissertation (2006), later published as book
ISBN978-3-63945-397-3 (2012 ed.))
[1] He was elected in 1900 but never took the seat; [2] He was elected in 1904 but never took the seat; [3] He was elected in 1918 but never took the seat