15 Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About Gabriel Garcia Márquez

One of the most beloved authors of the 20th century, Gabriel García Márquez sold tens of millions of books in his career, with massive hits like One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera.

But how much do you know about the late author? We bet you the grand sum of zero pounds that you won't know any of these facts (we're not betting people, sorry).

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1

Garcia Márquez was raised by his grandparents after his parents, the inspiration for Love In The Time Of Cholera, moved to Barranquilla without him.

2

The idea for One Hundred Years of Solitude struck Garcia Márquez while he was driving his family on a trip to Acapulco. He was so keen to start writing immediately that he turned the car right around and went home.

3

He had seven houses in four countries.

4

It took seven years for Garcia Márquez to find a publisher for Leaf Storm.

5

During one of his most impoverished times, Garcia Márquez lived in a brothel nicknamed The Skyscraper because it was four stories high, which was at the time enormous for the tiny town of Barranquilla.

6

One Hundred Years of Solitude has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.

7

Garcia Márquez studied law at the National University of Columbia but gave it up to become a journalist.

8

He first encountered his future wife, Mercedes, when she was just nine. They eventually married seventeen years later.

9

When asked how he started writing in an interview with The Paris Review, he claimed it was through drawing cartoons. "Before I could read or write I used to draw comics at school and at home," he said.

10

A great lover of cinema, Garcia Márquez once worked as a film critic for El Espectador magazine.

11

Garcia Márquez always refused to allow One Hundred Years Of Solitude to be made into a film as he didn't trust anyone to do it justice.

12

Garcia Márquez was said to be very superstitious and would never wear gold.

13

Garcia Márquez's literary heroes were Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner.

14

During the writing of One Hundred Years Of Solitude Garcia Márquez got through six packets of cigarettes per day.

15

He kept a yellow rose or tulip on his desk every day while writing.