Miguel Delibes Setién MML (; 17 October 1920 – 12 March 2010) was a Spanish novelist, journalist and newspaper editor associated with the Generation of '36 movement. From 1975 until his death, he was a member of the Royal Spanish Academy, where he occupied letter "e" seat. Educated in commerce, he began his career as a cartoonist and columnist. He later became the editor for the regional newspaper El Norte de Castilla before gradually devoting himself exclusively to writing novels. He was a connoisseur of the flora and fauna of Castile and was passionate about hunting and the countryside. These were common themes in his writing, and he often wrote from the perspective of a city-dweller who remained connected with the rural world. He was one of the leading figures of post-Civil War Spanish literature, winning numerous literary prizes. Several of his works have been adapted into plays or have been turned into films, winning awards at the Cannes Film Festival among others. He has been ranked with Heinrich Böll and Graham Greene as one of the most prominent Catholic writers of the second half of the twentieth century. He was deeply affected by the death of his wife in 1974. In 1998 he was diagnosed with colon cancer, from which he never fully recovered. He died in 2010. Biography Early life and training Miguel Delibes was born in Valladolid on 17 October 1920, the third of eight children from the marriage between María Setién and Adolfo Delibes. His father was born and died in the Cantabrian town Molledo, where Miguel spent many summers. The writer was named an adopted son of Valladolid in 2009. The name Delibes was of French origin and came from Toulouse. Miguel's grandfather was the brother of the French composer Léo Delibes, and had moved to Spain to participate in the construction of the railway in Cantabria. His father was a law professor at the Valladolid Business School. Miguel attended the College of Our Lady of Lourdes in Valladolid. After the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, he enlisted in the Navy on the Nationalist side. He served on the cruiser Canarias, which operated in the Mallorcan region. At the end of the war in 1939, he returned to his home town, where he studied commerce and law. He then enrolled at the Escuela de Artes y Oficios (School of Arts and Crafts) of Valladolid,