Marin Preda (Romanian pronunciation: [maˈrin ˈpreda]; 5 August 1922,[1] Siliștea Gumești, Teleorman County, Kingdom of Romania – 16 May 1980, Mogoșoaia, Ilfov County], Socialist Republic of Romania) was a Romanian novelist, post-war writer and director of Cartea Românească publishing house.

Tudor Călărașu was also a widower, and had three sons from his first marriage: Ilie (Paraschiv), Gheorghe (Achim) and Ion (Nilă).

[3] Marin Preda spent his childhood in this large and rural family which — despite owning two plots of land — did not have financial security.

Due to the family's rural lifestyle, Preda participated in agricultural work at home, which meant that he was often absent from school.

Preda's final graduating exam was taken at the Central School in Ciolănești (a commune ten kilometres away from Siliștea Gumești).

In 1940, following the Second Vienna Award, which transferred parts of Transylvania to Hungary, Preda began to attend school in Bucharest.

In April 1942, Preda made his publishing debut with the sketch "Părlitu" ("Burnt") in the newspaper Timpul, endorsed by the poet Miron Radu Paraschivescu.

[4] His debut at the age of 20 gave him confidence in his writing, and he continued to publish sketches and stories, including "Strigoaica" ("The Undead"), "Salcâmul" ("The Acacia"), "Calul" ("The Horse"), "Noaptea" ("The Night"), and "La câmp" ("In the Field").

On the recommendation of critic Eugen Lovinescu, the poet Ion Vinea hired him as editorial secretary at the newspaper Evenimentul zilei ("Today's Event").

Preda took part in several meetings of the Sburătorul ("The Flier") literary circle, led by Eugen Lovinescu, where his short story "Calul" produced a vivid impression, arousing the delight of Dinu Nicodin, who purchased the manuscript for a large sum of money.

[5] The short story was included in Preda's debut volume, Întâlnirea din pământuri ("The Meeting between the Lands"), published in 1948.

The volume hinted at Preda's defining use of autobiographical, "fly on the wall" narratives: in the eponymous short story, critics immediately recognized the author's father, who would also appear with a changed name in Moromeții.

Preda's 1975 novel Delirul ("Delirium") is reflects an attempt to reconsider Ion Antonescu's role in Romanian history, against the background of resurgent nationalist pride in socialist Romania.

Here, Antonescu is painted as a tragic figure, who collaborated with Nazi Germany due to his belief that this was the only way to regain Bessarabia.

[7] The second edition of the novel "Marele singuratic" had appeared in 1976, and in 1977 he published "Viața ca o pradă" (Life as a Prey), a comprehensive autobiographical novel whose main theme is the crystallization of an artist's conscience.

In 1980, Marin Preda published his last novel, Cel mai iubit dintre pământeni ("The Most Beloved of Earthlings"), regarded as a violent critique of communism.

The autopsy, which took place 24 hours after his death, showed that his blood alcohol concentration was 3.5 BAC, enough to fall into a coma.

[14] His family maintains that his sudden death was related to the publication of the novel Cel mai iubit dintre pământeni and occurred in suspicious circumstances.

[15][16] According to the forensic report, "Marin Preda's death was violent and was due to mechanical asphyxia by clogging the airways with a soft object, possibly a bed linen, in an alcoholic coma".