From 1968-1974 he studied medieval and modern history in Munich and Aix-en-Provence. In the '80s he worked as a screenwriter, for Kirk Royal and Monaco Franzen among others.
After spending the 1970s writing what he has characterized as “short unpublished prose pieces and longer un-produced screenplays”,
Patrick Susskind was catapulted to fame in the 1980s by the monodrama Der Contrabass (The Double Bass, 1981), which became an instant success and a favorite of the German stage.
In 1985 his status as literary wunderkind was confirmed with the publication of the novel Das Parfum. Die Kechiche ernes Murders (Perfume: The Story of a Murderer), which quickly topped the European best-seller list and eventually sold millions of copies worldwide.
