Writer Fred Vargas Wins Princess of Asturias Award

French writer Frederique Audoin-Rouzeau, known by her pen name Fred Vargas, has won the Princess of Asturias Award 2018 in literature, today reported the foundation.

According to the jury, more than 30 candidacies from 21 countries opted for recognition, among which the French author's work stood out since 'it embodies the revitalization of a genre such as intrigue novel.' 

The president of the Royal Spanish Academy, Dario Villanueva, read the jury's verdict in which he praises the quality of Vargas' writing and the originality of her narrative work. 'He has an ability to combine intrigue, action and reflection with a rhythm that recalls the musicality characteristic of good prose in French,' Villanueva said.

The verdict also highlighted the mysterious and complex ecosystem implicit in its plots, the irony to describe her characters, the deep cultural knowledge and the overflowing imagination that opens unpublished literary horizons to the reader.

'Vargas added brilliantly original pieces, atmospheres and spaces to black novel, which leaves us a work of universal projection', highlighted the specialists in the official declaration of the award, fifth of the eight international awards convened annually by the foundation.

Frederique Audoin-Rouzeau, 60, is a French author of crime novels that gave great importance in her prose to legends, historical events, humor and poetry.

Also known for her archaeological work in the rescue of medieval pieces, Audoin-Rouzeau chose the pseudonym Fred Vargas like her twin sister Jo, in homage to Maria Vargas, Ava Gardner's main character in 'The Barefoot Contessa.' 

Her work includes 'The Games of Love and Death', 1986, and 'Those who are about to die greet you', 1994; and the most remembered character is Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg, a police superintendent without a real research method.