Alfredo Marquerie

Alfredo Marqueríe was a Spanish writer who received his doctorate in Jurisprudence in 1928, but it was through his passion for literature that he made his career and built his reputation. During his lifetime he was particularly well known - and in some quarters feared - as an influential theatre critic. The middle and later parts of his career coincided with the decades of Spain's one-party dictatorship, during which time he was a well-networked member of the country's literary establishment. Born into a military family, his political instincts were conservative, but sources insist that his literary journalism was frequently comedic and generally unencumbered by overtly Francoist bias. His contributions to literary commentary criticism featured not just in newspapers but also on the broadcast media. In addition, Marqueríe's output included stage dramas approximately fifty books, including volumes of his poetry, essays and short stories. There were also approximately ten novels and at least two biographies.