Javier Marias, one of Spain’s major novelists and a perennial candidate for the Nobel Prize for Literature, leaves behind a formidable body of work. Marias, who died on September 11 in his beloved Madrid aged 70 after suffering from pneumonia, was one of the great names in contemporary Spanish literature.
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Born on September 20, 1951 in the Spanish capital, he and his brothers grew up among piles of books -- his father Julian was a famous philosopher and his mother was a literature teacher.
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Marias started writing in his teens and went on to publish novels and short stories revolving around love and passion, imbued with black humour. They have earned the admiration of Nobel laureates JM Coetzee and Orhan Pamuk.
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In 1971, when he was just 19, he published his first novel "Los dominios del lobo", "The Domains of the Wolf". But Marias really rose to fame with "A Heart so White", published in 1992.
He soared to dizzying heights after that, and his works have been published in more than 40 languages. A member since 2008 of the Spanish Royal Academy, the official authority on the language, he was also fluent in French and English and worked as a translator.
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Apart from awards, his writing also earned him a kingdom. This was thanks to his novel "All Souls", in which he mentions British poet John Gawsworth, king of Redonda, a small rocky island that belongs to Antigua and Barbuda. A look at some of the famous works of Marias.
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“One of the best possible perspectives from which to tell a story is that of a ghost, someone who is dead but can still witness,” said Marias.
![In 1971, when he was just 19, he published his first novel "Los dominios del lobo", "The Domains of the Wolf". But Marias really rose to fame with "A Heart so White", published in 1992.](https://images.moneycontrol.com/static-mcnews/2022/09/4-Javier-Marias-death.jpg "In 1971, when he was just 19, he published his first novel "Los dominios del lobo", "The Domains of the Wolf". But Marias really rose to fame with "A Heart so White", published in 1992.")
![Apart from awards, his writing also earned him a kingdom. This was thanks to his novel "All Souls", in which he mentions British poet John Gawsworth, king of Redonda, a small rocky island that belongs to Antigua and Barbuda. A look at some of the famous works of Marias.](https://images.moneycontrol.com/static-mcnews/2022/09/2-Javier-Marias-death.jpg "Apart from awards, his writing also earned him a kingdom. This was thanks to his novel "All Souls", in which he mentions British poet John Gawsworth, king of Redonda, a small rocky island that belongs to Antigua and Barbuda. A look at some of the famous works of Marias.")
