The Penguin History of Modern Spain - by Nigel Townson (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

'The best account in a single volume of Spain since 1898, exemplary for concision and for accuracy in the use of language, as well as for equanimity and generosity of spirit' Felipe Fernández-Armesto, TLS

A revelatory new history of Spain, from the late nineteenth century to the twenty-first

'Spain is different, ' proclaimed the Franco regime in the 1940s, keen to attract foreign tourists. For the most part, the world has agreed. From the end of its 'glorious empire' in 1898 to the dazzling World Cup victory in 2010, the prevailing narrative of modern Spain has emphasized the country's peculiarity. Generations of historians and readers have been transfixed by its implosion into civil war in the 1930s, seduced by the valiant struggle of the republicans, horrified by the barbarity of the dictatorship which followed. Franco's Spain was seen as an anomaly in the midst of prosperous and permissive post-war Western Europe. But, as Nigel Townson shows in this richly layered and exciting new history, beyond the familiar image, there lies a radically different history of Spain: of a dynamic and progressive society that fits firmly into the narrative of modern Europe.

Drawing on over forty years of post-Franco scholarship, ThePenguin History of Modern Spain transforms our knowledge of Spain and its politics, society, economics and culture. It interweaves cutting-edge Spanish-led research - never before published in English - and testimonies of peasants, housewives, soldiers, workers, entrepreneurs, feminists and worker-priests, for an original and surprising portrait, which allows us, at last, to discern the country behind the veil of propaganda and romantic myths which still endure today

Review Quotes

A detailed survey of political, economic and social history, illuminating many of the trends, tensions and power players that have influenced the course of Spain's modern era - - Spectator

A veritable tour de force, this account of Spain's long twentieth century is a model of clarity, organization and economy alike, whilst at the same time offering interpretations that are as bold as they are original - Professor Emeritus Charles J. Esdaile, FRHistS, University of Liverpool -

Impressive... A radical account of Spain's fate in modern times - Martin Chilton - Independent

Magnificent... Townson is a leading historian of the country... this stunning and long-overdue pursuit of the truth is his masterpiece - Simon Heffer - Telegraph

Nigel Townson has produced a superb synthesis of the new Spanish history, while offering an original and arresting narrative of his own. - Professor José Álvarez Junco, Complutense University of Madrid -

Nigel Townson's book provides a marvellous overview of more than one hundred years of Spanish history. It is based on wide-ranging research, original in approach and accessible in style - Professor Tom Buchanan, University of Oxford -

Nigel Townson's compelling analysis of twentieth-century Spain combines a deep knowledge of European history with the novelist's eye for the telling detail. - Professor Michael Seidman, University of North Carolina -

This book is impressively researched and admirably dispassionate, and will rightfully become the standard survey of modern Spain available in the English language - Gerard DeGroot - The Times

This is the best account in a single volume of Spain since 1898, exemplary for concision and for accuracy in the use of language, as well as for equanimity and generosity of spirit ... The Penguin History of Modern Spain explicitly addresses foreigners, taking no knowledge for granted, but Spaniards would do well to heed it - - TLS

Townson provides an engaging and accessible account of Spain's tumultuous twentieth century. Convincingly dismantling the myth of Spanish exceptionalism, he shows that the lights and shadows of modern Spanish history can only be properly understood in the broader European context. This is a compelling and even-handed book - Julius Ruiz, Edinburgh University -

About the Author

Nigel Townson teaches history at the Complutense University of Madrid. He is the author and editor of numerous works on modern Spain, including the award-winning The Crisis of Democracy in Spain: Centrist Politics under the Second Republic, 1931-1936 (2000), Spain Transformed: The Late Franco Dictatorship, 1959-1975 (2007), and Is Spain Different? A Comparative Look at the 19th and 20th Centuries (2015). He has also edited the work of the exiled Spanish writer Arturo Barea.