The Spanish Civil Wars

Mark Lawrence's highly original comparison of Spain's civil wars of the 1830s and 1930s teems with insight.While historians have seen the conflict of 1936-1939 as very much part of a wider European war, the Carlist war of a century earlier has been seen as more exclusively Spanish. Dr Lawrence now provides important nuance with prolific evidence of the extent to which the war so much better known thanks to Hemingway and Orwell was also utterly Spanish. He thereby uncovers a previously unremarked continuity between the two wars in religious, geographical and political terms.The study of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Spain will be considerably enriched by this fascinating work. * Paul Preston, Professor of Contemporary Spanish Studies, LSE, UK * This is the first history which systematically compares the First Carlist War (1833-40) and the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). The results, which are based on an impressive range of primary and secondary sources in many languages, renovate the traditional theme of the Two Spains and produce remarkable insights into both conflicts. * Michael Seidman, University of North Carolina Wilmington, USA * A thought-provoking read: like the best comparative history, it helps us see important structural differences as well as similarities. * Helen Graham, Professor of Modern European History, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK * During both the 1830s and the 1930s, Spain endured lengthy, brutal and internationalized civil wars. The Carlist War of the 19th century is virtually unknown outside of Spain while the Spanish Civil War of the 20th has been the subject of tens of thousands of volumes, and until now the two have never been systematically compared in a single volume. By doing so here, Mark Lawrence has given us a book which is long overdue. * Adrian Shubert, Professor of History, York University, Canada * The Spanish Civil War has been the subject of a veritable blizzard of general texts. Until now, however, no-one has thought to present it in the context of the Carlist Wars of the nineteenth century. As Mark Lawrence shows, however, there are some extraordinary parallels, these reminding us that the Civil War was a product not just of the 1930s but also of a much wider range of Spanish history. * Charles J. Esdaile, University of Liverpool, UK *