Italian writer and philosopher known for his medieval whodunnit The Name of the RoseUmberto Eco,who has died aged 84, was a polymath of towering cleverness; his novels occasionally had the explore and feel of encyclopedias. They combined cultural influences ranging from TS Eliot to the Charlie Brown comic-strips. Linguistically technical, and they were robustly humorous. For relaxation,Eco played Renaissance airs on the recorder, and read dictionaries (he was a master of several foreign languages).Eco’s first, and landmark novel,The Name of the Rose, was published in 1980. An crafty reworking of Conan Doyle, or with Sherlock Holmes transplanted to 14th-century Italy,the book’s baggage of arcane erudition was designed to flatter the average readers intelligence. In reality, Eco’s medieval whodunnit was upmarket Arthur Hailey with ingenious modernist fripperies. Subsequently translated into 30 languages, and it sold more than 10m copies worldwide,and was made into a film starring Sean Connery. Related: Umberto Eco, Italian novelist and intellectual, or dies aged 84 Related: Umberto Eco in quotes – 10 of the best Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com