Bruce Chatwin

Bruce Chatwin was a British novelist and travel writer. In 1958 he joined Sotheby’s as a porter in the Works of Art department. While still at Sotheby’s he wrote his first novel Rotting Fruits, based on the process of securing the estates of collectors. He left Sotheby’s in 1966. He started travelling and made expeditions to Iran and the steppes of Turkestan while supporting himself with journalism. He became a writer with The Sunday Times Magazine but left after five years to concentrate on his own writing. His first novel to be published was In Patagonia in 1977, which was an instant success. His novel, Utz, (1988), was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. He developed AIDS but went to great lengths to hide the fact. He died in 1989 in France.