Giles Tremlett – författare

*A BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR: Telegraph, Financial Times, i Paper*'Making Francisco Franco’s long life and 36 years of dictatorship enjoyable reading is a daunting challenge ... Giles Tremlett nonetheless succeeds magnificently' PAUL PRESTON'An excellent biography – compelling, authoritative, even entertaining – of this highly dislikable creature’ SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE, DAILY TELEGRAPHFrom a scrawny military graduate to Europe’s youngest general, Francisco Franco was known for his ambition and calculated risk-taking. But his reputation remains a topic of fierce debate. Did he cripple Spain’s democracy or save the nation from left-wing tumult?In this definitive new biography, Giles Tremlett lays bare the story of a tyrant who deliberately wielded terror to maintain an iron grip on power. He traces Franco’s ruthless Civil War leadership through to his alignment with Hitler and Mussolini and the Cold War years that followed. Packed with fresh insight and chilling details, El Generalisimo unravels the life and legacy of the enigmatic dictator who shaped twentieth-century Spanish history.'A magisterial, groundbreaking new portrait ... Sets a gold standard in Spanish Civil War history' ELIZABETH DRAYSON

Bestselling author Giles Tremlett traverses the rich and varied history of Spain, from prehistoric times to today, in a brief, accessible primer for visitors, curious readers and hispanophiles.'Tremlett is a fascinating socio-cultural guide, as happy to discuss Spain's World Cup win as its Moorish rule' Guardian 'Negotiates Spain's chaotic history with admirable clarity and style' The TimesSpain's position on Europe's south-western corner has exposed it to cultural, political and actual winds blowing from all quadrants. Africa lies a mere nine miles to the south. The Mediterranean connects it to the civilizational currents of Phoenicians, Romans, Carthaginians, and Byzantines as well as the Arabic lands of the near east. Bronze Age migrants from the Russian steppe were amongst the first to arrive. They would be followed by Visigoths, Arabs, Napoleonic armies and many more invaders and immigrants. Circular winds and currents linked it to the American continent, allowing Spain to conquer and colonize much of it.As a result, Spain has developed a sort of hybrid vigour. Whenever it has tried to deny this inevitable heterogeneity, it has required superhuman effort to fashion a 'pure' national identity – which has proved impossible to maintain. In España, Giles Tremlett argues that, in fact, that lack of a homogenous identity is Spain's defining trait.

The image of Catherine of Aragon has always suffered in comparison to the heir-providing Jane Seymour or the vivacious eroticism of Anne Boleyn. But when Henry VIII married Catherine, she was an auburn-haired beauty in her twenties with a passion she had inherited from her parents, Isabella and Ferdinand, the joint-rulers of Spain who had driven the Moors from their country.This daughter of conquistadors showed the same steel and sense of command when organising the defeat of the Scots at the Battle of Flodden and Henry was to learn, to his cost, that he had not met a tougher opponent on or off the battlefield when he tried to divorce her.Henry VIII introduced four remarkable women into the tumultuous flow of England's history: Catherine of Aragon and her daughter 'Bloody' Queen Mary; and Anne Boleyn and her daughter, the Virgin Queen Elizabeth. 'From this contest, between two mothers and two daughters, was born the religious passion and violence that inflamed England for centuries,' says David Starkey. Reformation, revolution and Tudor history would all have been vastly different without Catherine of Aragon.Giles Tremlett's new biography is the first in more than four decades to be dedicated entirely and uniquely to the tenacious woman whose marriage lasted twice as long as those of Henry's five other wives put together. It draws on fresh material from Spain to trace the dramatic events of her life through Catherine of Aragon's own eyes. 'Enthralling biography . . . this lively and richly detailed book . . . describing the queen's fierce battle to retain her crown, Tremlett brilliantly breathes life into the shadowy figure of a stubborn and finally heroic woman.' Daily Telegraph

'Packed with vivid character sketches and lyrical description, Tremlett has told a gripping story, full of beauty and darkness' The TimesWINNER OF THE 2018 ELIZABETH LONGFORD PRIZEIn 1474, a twenty-three year old woman ascended the throne of Castile, the largest and strongest kingdom in Spain. Ahead of her lay the considerable challenge not only of being a young, female ruler in an overwhelmingly male-dominated world, but also of reforming a major European kingdom that was riddled with crime, corruption, and violent political factionism. Her marriage to Ferdinand of Aragon was crucial to her success, bringing together as it did two kingdoms, but it was a royal partnership in which Isabella more than held her own. Her pivotal reign was long and transformative, uniting Spain and laying the foundations not just of modern Spain, but of the one of the world’s greatest empires. With authority and flair, acclaimed historian Giles Tremlett Tremlett relates the story of this legendary, if controversial, first initiate in a small club of great European queens that includes Elizabeth I of England, Russia's Catherine the Great, and Britain's Queen Victoria.

The Spanish are reputed to be amongst Europe's most voluble people. So why have they kept silent about the terrors of the Spanish Civil War and the rule of dictator Generalísimo Francisco Franco?The appearance - sixty years after that war ended - of mass graves containing victims of General 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.As well as a moving exploration of Spanish politics, 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? 'Lively and well-informed . . . at once a history, a journalistic inquiry and a travel book.' Sunday Telegraph

The image of Catherine of Aragon has always suffered in comparison to the heir-providing Jane Seymour or the vivacious eroticism of Anne Boleyn. But when Henry VIII married Catherine, she was an auburn-haired beauty in her twenties with a passion she had inherited from her parents, Isabella and Ferdinand, the joint-rulers of Spain who had driven the Moors from their country.This daughter of conquistadors showed the same steel and sense of command when organising the defeat of the Scots at the Battle of Flodden and Henry was to learn, to his cost, that he had not met a tougher opponent on or off the battlefield when he tried to divorce her.Henry VIII introduced four remarkable women into the tumultuous flow of England's history: Catherine of Aragon and her daughter 'Bloody' Queen Mary; and Anne Boleyn and her daughter, the Virgin Queen Elizabeth. 'From this contest, between two mothers and two daughters, was born the religious passion and violence that inflamed England for centuries,' says David Starkey. Reformation, revolution and Tudor history would all have been vastly different without Catherine of Aragon.Giles Tremlett's new biography is the first in more than four decades to be dedicated entirely and uniquely to the tenacious woman whose marriage lasted twice as long as those of Henry's five other wives put together. It draws on fresh material from Spain to trace the dramatic events of her life through Catherine of Aragon's own eyes.'Enthralling biography . . . this lively and richly detailed book . . . describing the queen's fierce battle to retain her crown, Tremlett brilliantly breathes life into the shadowy figure of a stubborn and finally heroic woman.'Daily Telegraph

Spaniards are reputed to be amongst Europe's most forthright people. So why have they kept silent about the terrors of their Civil War and the rule of General Franco? This apparent 'pact of forgetting' inspired writer Giles Tremlett to embark on a journey around Spain and its history. He found the ghosts of Spain everywhere, almost always arguing. Who caused the Civil War? Why do Basque terrorists kill? Why do Catalans hate Madrid? Did the Islamist bombers who killed 190 people in 2004 dream of a return to Spain's Moorish past? Tremlett's curiosity led him down some strange and colourful byroads, and brought him unexpected insights into the Spanish character.

In 1474, a twenty-three year old woman ascended the throne of Castile, the largest and strongest kingdom in Spain. Ahead of her lay the considerable challenge not only of being a young, female ruler in an overwhelmingly male-dominated world, but also of reforming a major European kingdom that was riddled with crime, corruption, and violent political factionism. Her marriage to Ferdinand of Aragon was crucial to her success, bringing together as it did two kingdoms, but it was a royal partnership in which Isabella more than held her own. Her pivotal reign was long and transformative, uniting Spain and setting the stage for its golden era of global dominance. For by the time of her death in 1504, Isabella had laid the foundations not just of modern Spain, but of one of the world''s greatest empires. Acclaimed historian Giles Tremlett chronicles the life of Isabella of Castile as she led her country out of the murky middle ages and harnessed the newest ideas and tools of the early Renaissance to turn her ill-disciplined, quarrelsome nation into a sharper, modern state with a powerful, clear-minded, and ambitious monarch at its centre. With authority, insight and flair he relates the story of this legendary, if controversial, first initiate in a small club of great European queens that includes Elizabeth I of England, Russia''s Catherine the Great, and Britain''s Queen Victoria.

** Shortlisted for the Military History Matters Book of the Year Award **''Magnificent. Narrative history at its vivid and compelling best'' Fergal KeaneThe first major history of the International Brigades: a tale of blood, ideals and tragedy in the fight against fascism.The Spanish Civil War was the first armed battle in the fight against fascism, and a rallying cry for a generation. Over 35,000 volunteers from sixty-one countries around the world came to defend democracy against the troops of Franco, Hitler and Mussolini.Ill-equipped and disorderly, yet fuelled by a shared sense of purpose and potential glory, these disparate groups of idealistic young men and women formed a volunteer army of a size and type unseen since the Crusades, known as the International Brigades. Were they heroes or fools? Saints or bloodthirsty adventurers? And what exactly did they achieve?In this magisterial history, Giles Tremlett tells – for the first time – the story of the Spanish Civil War through the experiences of this remarkable group. Drawing on the Brigades'' archives in Moscow, as well as first-hand accounts, The International Brigades captures all the human drama of a historic mission to halt fascist expansion in Europe.

** Shortlisted for the Military History Matters Book of the Year Award **'Magnificent. Narrative history at its vivid and compelling best' Fergal KeaneThe first major history of the International Brigades: a tale of blood, ideals and tragedy in the fight against fascism.The Spanish Civil War was the first armed battle in the fight against fascism, and a rallying cry for a generation. Over 35,000 volunteers from sixty-one countries around the world came to defend democracy against the troops of Franco, Hitler and Mussolini.Ill-equipped and disorderly, yet fuelled by a shared sense of purpose and potential glory, these disparate groups of idealistic young men and women formed a volunteer army of a size and type unseen since the Crusades, known as the International Brigades. Were they heroes or fools? Saints or bloodthirsty adventurers? And what exactly did they achieve?In this magisterial history, Giles Tremlett tells – for the first time – the story of the Spanish Civil War through the experiences of this remarkable group. Drawing on the Brigades’ archives in Moscow, as well as first-hand accounts, The International Brigades captures all the human drama of a historic mission to halt fascist expansion in Europe.

''Magnificent. Narrative history at its vivid and compelling best'' Fergal KeaneThe first major history of the International Brigades: a tale of blood, ideals and tragedy in the fight against fascism.The Spanish Civil War was the first armed battle in the fight against fascism, and a rallying cry for a generation. Over 35,000 volunteers from sixty-one countries around the world came to defend democracy against the troops of Franco, Hitler and Mussolini. Ill-equipped and disorderly, yet fuelled by a shared sense of purpose and potential glory, disparate groups of idealistic young men and women banded together to form a volunteer army of a size and kind unseen since the Crusades, known as the International Brigades. These passionate liberal fighters – from across Europe, China, Africa and the Americas – would join the Republican cause, fighting for over two years on the bloody battlegrounds of Madrid, Jarama and Ebro. Were they heroes or fools? Saints or bloodthirsty adventurers? And what exactly did they achieve? This is a story rendered vivid in the writings of Orwell and Hemingway, the paintings of Picasso and the photographs of Taro and Capa. But here, in this magisterial history, award-winning historian Giles Tremlett tells – for the first time – the story of the Spanish Civil War through the experiences of this remarkable group of people. Drawing on the Brigades'' extensive archives in Moscow, Comintern documents and first-hand accounts, Tremlett captures all the human drama of an historic mission to halt fascist expansion in Europe. A fascinating history of resistance, The International Brigades shows just how far ordinary people will go to save democracy against overwhelming odds in a tale of European solidarity that resonates just as strongly today.

*A 2025 BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR: Telegraph, Financial Times, i Paper*'Making Francisco Franco’s long life and 36 years of dictatorship enjoyable reading is a daunting challenge ... Giles Tremlett nonetheless succeeds magnificently' PAUL PRESTON'An excellent biography – compelling, authoritative, even entertaining – of this highly dislikable creature’ SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE, DAILY TELEGRAPH'A magisterial, groundbreaking new portrait ... Sets a gold standard in Spanish Civil War history' ELIZABETH DRAYSONFrom a scrawny, overlooked military graduate to the youngest general in Europe, Francisco Franco was known for his ambition, talent and calculated risk-taking. Yet his reputation remains a topic of fierce debate. Did he destroy Spain and stifle its democracy or rescue the nation from left-wing tumult? In this compelling biography, Giles Tremlett unravels the complex life and legacy of the enigmatic dictator who shaped twentieth-century Spanish history.This book will delve into the complexities of Franco's character, exploring his volatile relationship with a domineering father, his traumatic experiences fighting in Morocco and the formation of his authoritarian ideology. The narrative follows Franco's ruthless leadership during the Civil War, his alignment with Hitler and Mussolini and the subsequent Cold War era that brought him international rehabilitation. Tremlett interrogates Franco's transformation of Spain through a lens that challenges the conventional view of him as a bumbling leader. Instead, he argues that Franco was a deliberate and pragmatic dictator who wielded terror to maintain an iron grip on power, and whose lasting (and most surprising) contribution was the period of peace that allowed Spain to challenge the absolutist spirit he embodied. Nuanced and comprehensive, El Generalísimo offers a fresh perspective that reveals the intricate interplay of ambition and fearlessness of Francisco Franco; and examines his enduring legacy that continues to shape Spain's political and cultural landscape.

*A 2025 BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR: Telegraph, Financial Times, i Paper*'Making Francisco Franco's long life and 36 years of dictatorship enjoyable reading is a daunting challenge ... Giles Tremlett nonetheless succeeds magnificently' PAUL PRESTON'An excellent biography compelling, authoritative, even entertaining of this highly dislikable creature' SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE, DAILY TELEGRAPH'A magisterial, groundbreaking new portrait ... Sets a gold standard in Spanish Civil War history' ELIZABETH DRAYSONFrom a scrawny, overlooked military graduate to the youngest general in Europe, Francisco Franco was known for his ambition, talent and calculated risk-taking. Yet his reputation remains a topic of fierce debate. Did he destroy Spain and stifle its democracy or rescue the nation from left-wing tumult? In this compelling biography, Giles Tremlett unravels the complex life and legacy of the enigmatic dictator who shaped twentieth-century Spanish history.This book will delve into the complexities of Franco's character, exploring his volatile relationship with a domineering father, his traumatic experiences fighting in Morocco and the formation of his authoritarian ideology. The narrative follows Franco's ruthless leadership during the Civil War, his alignment with Hitler and Mussolini and the subsequent Cold War era that brought him international rehabilitation. Tremlett interrogates Franco's transformation of Spain through a lens that challenges the conventional view of him as a bumbling leader. Instead, he argues that Franco was a deliberate and pragmatic dictator who wielded terror to maintain an iron grip on power, and whose lasting (and most surprising) contribution was the period of peace that allowed Spain to challenge the absolutist spirit he embodied. Nuanced and comprehensive, El General simo offers a fresh perspective that reveals the intricate interplay of ambition and fearlessness of Francisco Franco; and examines his enduring legacy that continues to shape Spain's political and cultural landscape.

'Making Francisco Franco's long life and 38 years of dictatorship enjoyable reading is a daunting challenge ... Giles Tremlett nonetheless succeeds magnificently' PAUL PRESTON'A magisterial, ground-breaking new portrait ... Sets a gold standard in Spanish Civil War history' ELISABETH DRAYSONFrom a scrawny, overlooked military graduate to the youngest general in Europe, Francisco Franco was known for his ambition, talent and calculated risk-taking. Yet his reputation remains a topic of fierce debate. Did he destroy Spain and stifle its democracy or rescue the nation from left-wing tumult? In this compelling biography, Giles Tremlett unravels the complex life and legacy of the enigmatic dictator who shaped twentieth-century Spanish history.This book will delve into the complexities of Franco's character, exploring his volatile relationship with a domineering father, his traumatic experiences fighting in Morocco and the formation of his authoritarian ideology. The narrative follows Franco's ruthless leadership during the Civil War, his alignment with Hitler and Mussolini and the subsequent Cold War era that brought him international rehabilitation. Tremlett interrogates Franco's transformation of Spain through a lens that challenges the conventional view of him as a bumbling leader. Instead, he argues that Franco was a deliberate and pragmatic dictator who wielded terror to maintain an iron grip on power, and whose lasting (and most surprising) contribution was the period of peace that allowed Spain to challenge the absolutist spirit he embodied. Nuanced and comprehensive, El General simo offers a fresh perspective that reveals the intricate interplay of ambition and fearlessness of Francisco Franco; and examines his enduring legacy that continues to shape Spain's political and cultural landscape.