We are an independent publisher based in London E5
with a primary interest in Spain and Latin America.
MEMORIES OF 1930s SPAIN
In this series we are working with leading historians to bring to print previously unpublished memoirs by individuals who engaged in various ways to defend the Spanish Republic, while Europe’s democracies turned a blind eye. We have also republished a cluster of amazing memoirs written in English by people who had direct experience of Spain during the 1930s, all of which had been long since out of print, and other related historical research.
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In Place of Splendour by Constancia de la Mora, with an introduction by Soledad Fox Maura
Constancia de la Mora was one of the first Spanish women to obtain a divorce under the new laws passed by the fledgling Spanish Republic. When the fascist rebellion broke out in 1936, she became a key figure in the Republic’s international press office. This is her autobiography, first published in 1940. |
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The Fighter Fell in Love: A Spanish Civil War Memoir by James R Jump, with a foreword by Paul Preston and a preface by Jack Jones
At the age of 21, James R Jump left his fiancée in England and went to Spain to join the International Brigades in their fight against Franco and his fascist supporters. He saw action in the Battle of the Ebro and was mentioned in despatches for his bravery. This is his previously unpublished memoir. |
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Struggle for the Spanish Soul & Spain in the Post-War World by Arturo & Ilsa Barea, with a foreword by William Chislettt
In Struggle for the Spanish Soul (1941) Barea asserted the imperative for the democracies of Europe to unseat Franco. Similar arguments made in Spain in the Post-War World (1945) also fell on deaf ears. Together, these two essays paint a picture of the early years of the dictatorship, which was to endure until Franco’s death in 1975. |
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Never More Alive: Inside the Spanish Republic by Kate Mangan, with a preface by Paul Preston
Kate Mangan went to Spain in search of her lover, Jan Kurzke, who had joined the International Brigade. She ended up working for the Republic’s Press & Censorship office, visiting battlefronts and meeting a host of characters including Auden, Hemingway, Robert Capa and Gerda Taro. When Jan was injured she helped him escape across the border into France . This is her memoir. |
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The Good Comrade: Memoirs of an International Brigaderby Jan Kurzke, with an introduction by Richard Baxell
Jan Kurzke was an artist who fled Nazi Germany in the early 1930s and tramped round the south of Spain, witnessing first-hand the poverty of the rural population. When the civil war broke out in 1936, he joined the International Brigade. Many of his fellow volunteers died in the savage battles on the outskirts of Madrid and Jan himself was seriously wounded at Boadilla. |
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British Women and the Spanish Civil War by Angela Jackson
Why would young British women risk their lives by volunteering to serve in medical units during Spain’s bitter civil war? Why would so many women here in Britain dedicate their energies to raising funds to help people suffering in Spain ? The answers to these and other intriguing questions can be found in this revised and updated paperback edition of Angela Jackson’s classic study. |
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Firing a Shot for Freedom, The Memoirs of Frida Stewart with a Foreword and Afterword by Angela Jackson
Frida Stewart became involved with Aid for Spain ended up driving an ambulance out to Murcia. She worked for the Republican Press Office in Madrid, visiting the front and “firing a shot for freedom”. She was later in France when the Nazis invaded and was imprisoned in an internment camp, from which she escaped with a friend. This is her story. |
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Boadilla by Esmond Romilly
The nephew that Winston Churchill disowned describes his experiences fighting with the International Brigade in the Battle of Madrid. Written on his honeymoon in St. Jean de Luz after he eloped with Jessica Mitford. |
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My House in Málaga by Sir Peter Chalmers Mitchell
Sir Peter retired to Málaga in 1934 at the age of 70, after an eminent career in zoology. Two years later the Spanish Civil War erupted. While most ex-pats fled to Gibraltar, Sir Peter stayed on to “protect his house and servants” from the fascist insurgents. He ended up in prison for sheltering Arthur Koestler from Franco’s head of propaganda, who had threatened to “shoot him like a dog”. |
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Spanish Portrait by Elizabeth Lake
A brutally honest, semi-autobiographical novel set in San Sebastián and Madrid between 1934 and 1936, portraying a frantic love affair against a background of apprehension and confusion as Spain drifted inexorably towards civil war. “A remarkable first novel revealing a remorseless interest in emotional truth” – Elizabeth Bowen |
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Some Still Live by F.G. Tinker Jr
Tinker was a US pilot who signed up with the Republican forces because he didn’t like Mussolini. He was also attracted by the prospect of adventure and a generous pay cheque. Once in Spain, Tinker became the Republic’s ace pilot. In his free time he roamed the bars and hotels of Madrid in search of champagne and a hot bath, and getting drunk with Hemingway This is his memoir. |
A TASTE OF ARGENTINA
We have begun this new series with two previously untranslated works by Juana Manuela Gorriti, an Argentine feminist avant la lettre who was writing in the nineteenth century, together with two of her novellas in the original Spanish.
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The Yocci Well by Juana Manuela Gorriti
A love story, ghost story and gothic horror rolled into one, the action in The Yocci Well takes place in two parallel periods spanning twenty years, contrasting Argentina’s War of Independence with the savagery of the civil wars that followed. This brilliant novella is now available in English for the first time. |
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Our Native Land by Juana Manuela Gorriti
Juana Manuela Gorriti’s last major work, published in 1889, relates a physical journey through northern Argentina as well as a voyage back through her memories of the people and events she had known and experienced along the way. This fascinating insight into her life and times is now available in English for the first time. |
