THE personal archive of a legendary Spanish novelist is heading to Madrid’s National Library after the culture ministry bought it for €500,000.
The late Javier Marias, widely regarded as one of Spain’s greatest contemporary authors, left behind a treasure trove of documents – including typed manuscripts of his novels, early drafts, handwritten notes and corrections, newspaper articles and much of his correspondence.
The archive also contains faxes, interviews and documents relating to disputes with publishers.
Marías’ collection will now be housed at the National Library of Spain, with the Culture Ministry saying that bringing the papers together will support future research.
The acclaimed author wrote 16 novels, three short story collections and several collections of newspaper articles before his death in 2022.
His books were translated into 44 languages and sold nearly nine million copies around the world.
Marias’s wife, Carme Lopez Rodriguez-Mercader, has donated his personal library, photographs, audio and video records, music scores and some of his letters to other writers.
READ MORE: Spanish novelist Javier Marias dies at the age of 70 in Madrid
The papers could help readers and researchers see how his novels developed, from early drafts to the finished books.
His correspondence may also offer a glimpse into his working relationships with writers and publishers in Spain and abroad.
Marias taught Spanish literature in Oxford in the 1980s, and his novel All Souls drew on his experience there.
He was also a leading translator of English-language writers, including Laurence Sterne and Thomas Hardy.
His novels often draw readers in with a dramatic event: an unexplained suicide, a lover’s sudden death or a complicated love triangle.
From there, they explore secrets, betrayal, memory and the difficulty of knowing what another person is thinking.
Marias also wrote about old age and looked closely at relationships between men and women.
In books such as A Heart So White and The Infatuations, private relationships can raise difficult questions about loyalty, truth and responsibility.
READ MORE: Author snubs literary prize in Spain
Born in Madrid in 1951, Marias published his first novel, Los dominios del lobo, in 1971.
Another acclaimed work is Your Face Tomorrow, a three-part novel about a man recruited to judge and report on other people.
Alongside fiction, Marias wrote newspaper columns about public life and issues he considered serious, unfair or foolish.
He was known for speaking his mind, and some of his opinions caused controversy. In 2012, he turned down Spain’s National Narrative Award, saying he did not want to be linked to a political party or the government.
Marias became a member of the Royal Spanish Academy in 2008. His books brought Spanish fiction to readers around the world, while his years in Oxford gave his work a connection many British readers and expats may recognise.
The archive not only preserves the books Marias finished, but also documents the long process of writing them.
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