Giles Tremlett

TRAVELS THROUGH A COUNTRY´S HIDDEN PAST.

The appearance - sixty years after that war ended - of mass graves containing victims of Franco’s death squads has finally broken what Spaniards call ‘the pact of forgetting’. At this charged moment, Giles Tremlett embarked on a journey around Spain - and through Spanish history. Tremlett’s journey was also an attempt to make sense of his personal experience of the Spanish. Why do they dislike authority figures, but are cowed by a doctor’s white coat? How had women embraced feminism without men noticing? What binds gypsies, jails and flamenco? Why do the Spanish go to plastic surgeons, donate their organs, visit brothels or take cocaine more than other Europeans?

Price 11.50

Paul Preston

REACTION, REVELUTION & REVENGE

No war in modern times has inflamed the passions of both ordinary people and intellectuals in the way that the conflict in Spain in 1936 did.The Spanish Civil War is burned into European consciousness, not simply because it prefigured the much larger world war that followed it, but because the intense manner of its prosecution was a harbinger of a new and horrific form of warfare that was universally dreaded. At the same time, the hopes awakened by the attempted social revolution in republican Spain chimed with the aspirations of many in Europe and the United States during the grim years of the great Depression. This is a full-blooded account of this pivotal period in twentieth-century European history. Paul Preston vividly recounts the struggles of the war, analyzes the wider implications of the revolution in the Republican zone, tracks the emergence of Francisco Franco’s brutal (and, ultimately, extraordinarily durable) fascist dictatorship and assesses the ways in which the Spanish Civil War was a portent of the Second World War that ensued so rapidly after it.

Price 14.90€

Toby Green

The Reighn Of Fear

Everybody has heard of the Inquisition. It was an institution that pursued heretics, philandering priests and sexual deviants in Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America for a period of over 350 years, changing its focus with the times and enduring stubbornly into the nineteenth century. Today the word implies dread, fear and a withheld threat of torture. But who were its targets? Why did it provoke such fear? How and where did it operate? Why was it founded, and why did it last for so long?Toby Green’s incredible new book brings an extraordinary 350-year period vividly to life by focusing on the hitherto untold stories of individuals from all walks of life. Because the Inquisition touched every aspect of society, it changed the world: people attending church had to look suitably devout, or they might be denounced; a curse at a game of cards, thrown out in the heat of the moment, could bring an investigation; stripping fat from a leg of lamb was enough to excite accusations of being a Jew. A secret police and a thought police, the Inquisition produced a permanent state of fear.This history, though filled with stories of terror and the unspeakable ways in which human beings can treat one another, is also one of hope and ultimately of the resilience of the human spirit. Instead of being cowed by their fear, countless people rebelled in small and big ways, paving the way for a more inclusive society.The story of the Inquisition is not, then, one to be hidden and avoided; it deserves to be told in all its human richness and complexity.

Price 14.90

Simon Grayson

The British in Spain from 1830 to 1965

A colourful account, illustrated by 80 photographs, of the British presence in Spain from 1830 to 1965.

Price: 7.50€

Mittie Hellmich

Fun and Festive Recipes

Accompanied by a detailed history of Sangria, this thirst-quenching guide is overflowing with recipes such as Spanish Harlem Sangria, Sangria Caliente with a tequila kick, Lime and Roses Red Sangria, and much more.

Price 6.00€ Second Hand. All our second hand books are sold in prestine condition

Caroline Waterman

A Stranger in Franco´s Spain

An army lorry skids to a halt outside the home of a Spanish family, the terrified occupants in fear that they’re just about to be arrested. The solidiers thunder on the door, confirming their fears…but when the door is opened, they find that the Regional Governor has ordered the soldiers to deliver a Christmas tree to the English girl who’s staying there.For those familiar with today’s Spain, it is hard to imagine it as an impoverished, backward-looking country where ragged, barefoot children ran through the streets begging for money; or when a rail journey from Madrid to Granada meant hours and hours of freezing discomfort. In the 1950s, the author arrived in a cathedral town buried in a remote corner of Castile to teach English. Here she found a forgotten world, a relic of yesteryear, where women were suppressed, monks ploughed with oxen, and servants were beaten by their employers. She encountered chauvinistic men, passionate love, stunning scenery and overwhelming hospitality. Coming into contact with people from such a different background and sharing their lives, she realised this was a nation seething with political tension, licking its wounds still after the Civil War. This amusing, moving book paints a picture of yesterday’s Spain, sometimes tragic but always surprising…but gone now for ever.

Price 14.90€

Victoria Hislop

Beneath the majestic towers of the Alhambra, Granada’s cobbled streets resonate with music and secrets. Sonia Cameron knows nothing of the city’s shocking past; she is here to dance. But in a quiet cafe, a chance conversation and an intriguing collection of old photographs draw her into the extraordinary tale of Spain’s devastating civil war. Seventy years earlier, the cafe is home to the close-knit Ramirez family. In 1936, an army coup led by Franco shatters the country’s fragile peace, and in the heart of Granada the family witnesses the worst atrocities of conflict. Divided by politics and tragedy, everyone must take a side, fighting a personal battle as Spain rips itself apart.

In The Return, Victoria Hislop again creates brilliant characters and weaves the story line around historical events in such a way, you live the experiences with them. I feel I have learnt a lot about the Spanish Civil War and events in quite recent history really, in a fantastic story.

We stock this book second hand at 5.00€.  All our books are in Prestine condition

Active gardeners in their adopted country, Clodagh and Dick Handscombe bring 40 years’ combined experience of gardening in Spain to this comprehensive and beautifully illustrated guide for residents and holiday-home owners.

New Euro 19.90

Sergio Vasquez

A Mouthwatering selection of authentic Spanish recipes with a fresh healthy twist, for all occasions from family meals to entertaining friends.

13.50€

Pepita Aris

This beautiful book captures the real flavour of Spain, and is irresitible for anyone who loves good Mediterranean food.  Focussing on traditional Spanish home cooking with tasty soups, healthy salads and vegetable dishes, rice and pasta meals, fresh fish and shellfish, appetizing poultry and game specialities, and delicious local meat and furred game recipe.  Every recipe is shown in stunning colour photographs with clearly illustrated step-by-step instructions to ensure perfect results.

7.50€