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    Winter in Madrid
    Winter in Madrid
    Winter in Madrid
    Audiobook21 hours

    Winter in Madrid

    Written by C. J. Sansom

    Narrated by Gordon Griffin

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Best-selling British author C.J. Sansom has been awarded the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger Award. Winter in Madrid is set just after the bloody Spanish Civil War, with World War II looming over Europe. Reluctantly, Harry Brett looks for an old schoolmate who's become a person of interest for British intelligence. "A bestseller in the U.K., this moving opus leaves the reader mourning for the Spain that might have been-and the England that maybe never was."-Publishers Weekly
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateJun 19, 2009
    ISBN9781436133197
    Winter in Madrid
    Author

    C. J. Sansom

    C. J. Sansom was educated at Birmingham University, where he took a BA and then a PhD in history. After working in a variety of jobs, he retrained as a solicitor and practised in Sussex, until becoming a full-time writer. Sansom is the bestselling author of the acclaimed Shardlake series, the Spanish Civil War thriller Winter in Madrid and the number one bestseller Dominion. in 2023, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. He lives in Sussex.

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    Reviews for Winter in Madrid

    3.5/5

    501 ratings36 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I love it when I unexpectedly come across a book in which the author tells a story around events that actually happened and people who really existed. It makes me want to learn more about the events and how they shaped the lives of the people affected. This is one of those books.During Spain’s civil war Bernie Piper, a communist from Britain, joined the International Brigades and was sent to fight against the fascists. The last he was heard from was at the battle of Jarama in 1937. Bernie’s parents and his girlfriend, Barbara Clare, ask an old public school friend to help search for him. They come up empty.Several years later the old friend, Harry Brett, is wounded at Dunkirk and suffers post traumatic stress disorder. Recovering at home in England, he is contacted by the British Secret Service. They are interested in Harry because he can speak several languages and therefore can be put to use - ostensibly as a translator. In reality however, Harry is instructed to spy on another old school friend, Sandy Forsyth, who is busily scheming to take financial advantage of the political situation during World War Two. Harry is surprised to discover that Barbara is still in Spain and has paired up with Sandy. As the story evolves the reader discovers that all three characters, Harry, Sandy and Barbara are concealing secrets from each other that when revealed, will irretrievably alter the course of their lives.This book is written in a tone that evokes the era in which it takes place like none other that I’ve read in a long time. Written in period detail and expertly researched, it was easy to picture the cold streets of Madrid, the poverty and desperation of the people, the hopes and fears. I could feel the terror of the children as they were unceremoniously rounded up and delivered to church orphanages for ‘processing’ after their parents, who were deemed enemies of the state, disappeared forever. In fact the author dedicates the book “to the memory of the thousands of children of Republican parents who disappeared into the orphanages of Franco’s Spain”.The politics in Spain during its civil war and the role it played during the Second World War is complicated to say the least. There is a short historical note at the end of the book explaining the political atmosphere during the years the story takes place. This was helpful in giving insight into some of the real people depicted in the book.Having read Guernica by Dave Boling not long ago, my interest in what happened in Spain during these difficult years was piqued. As a result, I was very pleased to have the opportunity to read C.J. Sansom’s Winter in Madrid and I highly recommend it.
    • 3/5
      In 1940, Harry Brett, a former soldier still recovering from the aftershocks of battle, is approached by the British Secret Service. They are soon arranging for his travel to Madrid, now under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. Posing as a translator, Harry is assigned to investigate Sandy Forsyth, a childhood friend and businessman who is suspected of having underhand dealings in the diamond business. I had been expecting some great things out of this book. The setting off Spain, which is bafflingly uncommon, the beautiful cover and alluring title all made this an anticipated read. Well, I was mostly disappointed.The book is classified as a "thriller" of sorts, but in actuality, it's far from it. The book plods on with little excitement except for a few scenes at the very end. Harry Brett is a fairly uninteresting character who adds no spark to the story. And Sansom reminds us quite a few times that Harry's espionage isn't even all that important or dangerous. We hear about world politics swirling all around him, especially with Franco's favoritism toward Hitler, but Harry is never personally involved, staying instead on the more mundane side of spy business by simply chatting to businessmen. When Harry accidentally catches another spy following him, the man admits that he doesn't really care what Harry does, and seems to shrug off his intelligence duties with ease as the two begin talking and becoming fast friends, telling us that whoever sent him can't care what Harry does all that much, either, so he can't be in much danger.There were also quite a lot of things going on that seemed overly convenient to the plot. For example, just as Sandy's girlfriend is discovering that the love of her life, whom she believed was killed in battle, may still be alive, Sandy abruptly turns abusive, giving her a great excuse to - you'll never guess - try to free her lover and leave Sandy.None of the characters did anything particularly unexpected. Sandy throws us a twist toward the end, but I had already guessed it fairly early on in the book.I disliked the scenes with Harry's love interest, the Spanish Sofia. I could never quite believe in Harry's feelings for her and his drastic plans for them, toward the end.Also, I didn't like Sansom's writing. It is staccato and jumpy, especially in dialogue. Entire paragraphs may be filled with sentences that are only 1 - 3 words long, reading something like this:"Yes. I know. I do. You can. We will."Once I noticed it early on in the story, it started annoying me, and by the end, it was driving me crazy. Similarly, he would frequently include memories of various characters, but with absolutely NO warning. Sometimes, an entire bizarre scene would start and end, and I would flip back a few pages, wondering if I had missed something. Then I would realize that it was just a memory - one that had no introduction whatsoever, and that jumped back into the present with even less warning. I had been planning on getting around to Sansom's Tudor-era Shardlake Mysteries sometime soon, but this first encounter with his choppy writing has certainly pushed them far, far down the list. And besides the rapid fire wording, Sansom's writing just wasn't good. Passable enough for fun historical mysteries, but that wasn't what I feel this book was aiming to be. Venturing into the literary realm, Sansom's writing feels cheap and amateurish. The one thing that I did like about the book was the setting. That, at least, was a fairly strong point in a weak book. Harry previously visited Madrid in 1931, just before the Spanish Civil War, allowing comparisons and insight into how much the city has changed. The ever-present political undercurrents seemed a realistically tense, atmospheric part of the Madrid scene.Despite the setting, though, this isn't a book that I will be keeping.
    • 4/5
      This is the first book that I have read by C.J. Sansom. It was rich in lots of history about the Spanish Civil War from 1940 and it's consequences to the people of Spain. I found the characters to be very interesting with lots of espionage and corruption making the story rather thrilling in parts. It was a little slow in the beginning but I found the ending really held my attention with lots of action and intrigue. I now look forward to reading the author's Shardlake series. I would highly recommend this book to those who love historical thrillers with some romance in the mix.
    • 3/5
      I really enjoyed reading this book for the most part, set in Franco’s Spain (mostly Madrid) just after his fascist forces prevailed in the Civil War. But the ending goes so wrong in so many different ways, it spoiled what had been a gripping story filled with interesting, sympathetic characters in a compelling setting. Worth reading for the historical details about Spain during and just after the Civil War; but be prepared for the story to go spectacularly off the rails and the characters to behave in implausible and unrealistic ways in the end.
    • 4/5
      Very personal for me as my dad was an international brigader. I've always understood why he did not want to share his experiences with his family. After reading this I feel I understand that even more. It is fiction but really makes you feel engaged with the people, place and times. A very good book. I think I would have loved reading it almost as much without the personal interest, and a good window on how deeply different Spain is from Britain, and how much suffering there has been for so many. A great addition to my Madrid theme - thanks susanne for recommending it.
    • 4/5
      Harry Brett had been at Dunkirk, but was narrowly missed by a shell that killed the next soldier along. He has been discharged as an invalid and is approached by SIS. They are asking him to spy on someone he knew from his former school, Sandy Forsythe, who has financial interests in Spain and the British government want to know how closely linked he is to the Franco regime. He is dispatched to Madrid with his cover as a translator, and starts to make contact.
      Forsythe’s wife is a lady called Barbara, someone who Brett had met before as well. She is there to try and locate her first love, a man called Bernie, who was fighting with the communists against Franco, but had been declared missing presumed dead. Brett starts to see the couple more and more, with the hope of discovering more about the scheme that he is involved with. Barbara is informed that Bernie is alive and that one of the guards would be happy to help him escape, but he requires a large payment. Brett is being tailed by the Spanish authorities, but ends up helping the guy who was trailing him after he is attached by dogs. He takes him home, and starts to fall for the guys sister.
      Forsythe starts to trust Brett, and shows him the potential mine, but Brett may have just lost that trust. The diplomats at the embassy are furious, and Brett realizes he is a pawn in a larger game between them.
      Sansom has written a story set that combines love, hate, betrayal, tragedy and friendship. It does take a while to get going, by around page 150 I was wondering if I should continue or not. I was glad that I did, and the complex tale that he has written is well worth it in the end. Some of the twists are really good, though possible one too many in my opinion. I have given four stars, but it is realistically a 3.5 star book.
    • 4/5
      Complex historical plot set mainly in the early stages of WW2 when the UK was trying to persuade Spain to remain neutral and the country was still deeply divided following the civil war. Harry Brett is posted to Madrid as a translator with an undercover role to spy on a former fellow public school pupil. Fascinating glimpse into the terrible life ordinary Spaniards were living after the civil war and the deep divsions within society, including within the Franco regime.
    • 4/5
      Set in Spain in 1940. Franco is in power, England is worried that he may join Hitler, lots of intrigue because no one is honest with anyone. Harry Brett has been asked to spy on former classmate, Sandy Forsythe, in Spain because he's doing business with the "other side." (A bit confusing, the Republicans, the Falangists, the Monarchists, the Nationalists, the Communists. Who are the "good guys"? No one.) Bernie Piper, another classmate, had gone to Spain to fight for the Communists, was listed as missing believed killed. Harry had been to Spain twice before: once with Bernie before the Civil War and once to help girlfriend, Charlotte, look for him. Bernie is in a prison camp, Harry falls in love with Sofia, Charlotte plans Bernie's escape. No one leaves Spain that winter unscathed.
    • 5/5
      This was my first non-Shardlake book of C.J. Sansom. I had put off reading it, afraid it wouldn't live up to the Shardlake series, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I shouldn't have been afraid!

      I always wanted to learn more about the Spanish Civil War. The Shadow on the Wind is the only other book I've read that kind of dealt with it - and that book didn't go into it in any detail. This book will give you a pretty good crash course - with glimpses of Spain before the Civil War, during and especially the year immediately following Franco's final victory.

      I will say Sansom knows how to draw out the suspense! The further I got into the book, the faster I wanted to read. And while I did predict one or two plot points, I can't say he is predictable. He does throw a some extra twists to keep you on your toes.

      There are a couple of things that kind of irked me, though my quibbles are minor compared to what Sansom delivered. The book is divided into 3 parts. In the first part, there is a lot of back-and-forth between the present and future, as you get to know the characters and their history and background. It was a little disconcerting - there really isn't anything to alert you whether this new section is in the past or present. Sometimes I'd have to re-read the first few sentences of the paragraph after I figured out the setting.

      It also would have been nice to have a map of Spain in the front of the book. I don't know without looking it up where Madrid is situated in comparison to Seville, Barcelona or anything else in Spain.

      After this I'm definitely checking out his latest work, Dominion, even though I've never been tempted to read a work of alternative-history!
    • 2/5
      Normally I find historical thrillers interesting but for some reason this book just did not catch my Interest. It seemed quite dry and more like i was reading a history book then historical novel. I have tried and tried to read this book through to the end but i just cant seem to accomplish it. I would recommend this book to anyone suffering from insomnia because it can easily put you to sleep.
    • 3/5
      I thought this was well written. I was especially impressed that there was just the right amount of period detail. I didn't know much about the Spanish Civil War, but the author provided enough information for me to follow the story and yet not feel like I was reading a history book.I found the book suspenseful. There was one plot development late in the book that I guessed fairly early on, but rather than detract from my reading experience, it made me more anxious to see how everything would turn out.I thought Harry, with his shell-shock and conflicted loyalties, was a sympathetic character.By way of criticism: I didn't believe Barbara would ever have gotten involved with Sandy. And while Sandy is established as a vengeful person, endangering his life to get revenge struck me as over the top.Overall, I enjoyed this book. It certainly succeeded in transporting me to another time and place.
    • 4/5
      I didn't enjoy this novel as much as either the author's Shardlake series, or his alternate historical fiction novel, Dominion. The descriptions of oppression and poverty in Franco's Spain are vividly drawn, and one gets a very clear picture of a society riven by stark political and religious divides and chilling refusals to compromise. However, I found the jumping around of the action in the first half of the novel between 1940, 1931 and 1936 quite confusing, and throughout much of the book, the narrative drive was lacking, only the attempt to free Bernie from the labour camp coming across as exciting and dramatic. The Spanish characters were well drawn, while most of the British ones seemed a bit cliched. Ultimately, I found this a somewhat unsatisfying read, but one that could probably have been made tighter and more dramatic without a huge amount of change.
    • 4/5
      The Spanish Civil War has always intrigued me. Not just because I am vague about the details, but it was one of the conflicts where people came from all over the world to join in the fight. Not nations, but individual people. And some very famous personalities, like George Orwell and Ernest Hemingway, who had other lives and other occupations, but felt strongly enough about democracy for Spain that they joined in with the fight.So did Winter in Madrid answer my questions? Yes and no. I learned that the war was not a straightforward conflict. There weren’t obvious good guys and bad guys. Both sides committed atrocities and as with all conflicts, families were destroyed. This book definitely conveyed the tragedies inflicted by this war and gave a sense of what Madrid was like during that period. My only complaint about this book was the pacing. Some parts seemed to drag and the end was almost too frantic. Still, I have loved Sansom’s books set in Tudor England and look forward to more
    • 4/5
      Excellent book portraying Madrid after the Civil War in the early days of Franco's dictatorship. Harry is asked to work in the British Embassy as a translator, but in reality he's there to spy on his old schoolfriend Sandy who is working closely with the Franco regime.

      The story uncovers their schoolboy past and friendships that leads to a dramatic climax in the mountains around Madrid.

    • 4/5
      Wow! I loved it. I don't know how to classify this book. I've heard spy thriller..no. But, just fiction I think. It really gives you a sense of living in Madrid during the time of Franco. The characters were so completely drawn you really, really felt like you knew them. I'm not sure I would recommend this book to everyone. It is a bit slower, until the last few chapters. Really loved it.
    • 5/5
      This book combines three plot threads against the backdrop of post civil war Spain. Harry had been injured at Dunkirk and then reluctantly recruited by the security services. Barbara is the girlfriend of the man Harry has been sent to spy on and she is looking for Bernie, her old lover, missing in action after the battle of Jarama.This is definitely more of a slow burner than a page turner. It took me a good week to get into it. The last third though is definitely worth waiting for as everything comes together in an exciting climax. This also gives a great insight into the Spanish Civil War and Spain's position during World War Two, both subjects I knew little about before reading this.
    • 3/5
      After reading the first few pages of Winter in Madrid, I realised I needed a crash course in Spanish Civil War history, before continuing. After some research I continued on. Sansom writes intriguing and emotional male characters, Harry Brett is much like Matthew Shardlake (of the Dissolution series). Both men are complicated, emotional and constantly confronted by the harshness of life. The book examines lost love, true love and relationships in a turbulent and horrible period of world history. I really felt that this book only touched on the edges of Spain's modern history, the struggle for survival but the characters were so well drawn and the conflicted characters were excellent.
    • 3/5
      This is a beautifully written comprehensive novel which tried to clarify Spanish history from the 1930's and 40's. I kept getting lost among the socialists, fascists, royalists, Monarchists, communists, Falangists, and republicans. Mixed in with these are the British, the Russians and the Germans all with a finger in this very complex pie.

      The struggle to survive these times was gargantuan, my struggle to finish this book was less so.
    • 3/5
      I have mixed feelings about this book. I loved the author's description of the setting...he conveys the atmosphere of post-civil war Spain so well that I could feel the damp and cold. His description of life in a prison camp was also excellent and evocative.The plot....well, it all wraps up a little too neatly for my taste.And the characters: they were flat, never once did anything that surprised me and (as someone below has said) "straight out of British casting". They were little more than a vehicle to allow the history of the period in Spain to be told.The ending left me sad: it seems the sacrifices the characters made were all in vain; and the only people without blame were those who were politically neutral. Not an uplifting message...but the whole book was gloomy. Excellently gloomy in terms of setting. Mediocre at best in terms of characters and plot.
    • 3/5
      Winter in Madrid is set during the beginning of WWII, after Franco has taken over Spain, punishing those who opposed him and siding with the Nazis, while keeping his war-ravaged country out of the war. Harry is an academic asked to go to Madrid posing as a translator in order to spy on an old school friend. Sandy is a businessman, whose close dealings with the Falangists require a closer look. Harry finds his old friend and discovers that he's living with a woman who was the girlfriend of another old school friend -- one he traveled to Spain with before the Civil War and who returned to fight on the Republican side. He was declared missing, presumed dead, but now there is a hope that he has survived and is now in a prison camp. Spying and being spied upon, intrigue and daring escapes ensue. This was an enormously frustrating book for me. C.J. Sansom's writing is workmanlike; so that while it isn't bad, it also never achieves more than a steady, plodding pace. The setting is fantastic--there have been so many novels set in Western Europe during the Second World War, but few are set in Spain, and the events there are ripe ground for thousands of novels. There were serious concerns that Spain would join the war and tip the balance over to the Axis powers, while life in Spain was very difficult; years of bitter civil war and the subsequent dictatorship had left the economy in ruins. But if the time and place were well described, the characters were straight out of British central casting. In a world of shifting loyalties and shades of gray, Sansom has created his characters to be good or bad, with no surprises or nuances along the way. Despite the Spanish setting, the main characters are all British, each a stock character, straight from the box. This was less annoying than it might have been; after all, the reason they are so over-used is that they go over well. It's just a little tiresome in a book as long as Winter in Madrid to never be surprised by anything they do. Motivations are explained early and often and no one deviates from their anointed roles. I knew who would die in the daring escape long before they even knew there would be one. The plot was likewise predictable; I knew what the climactic scenes would be long before they were discussed. This is the kind of book that I would normally have set aside, but for the setting, which made it worthwhile, if not suspenseful. I'd like to roundly condemn it as a lazily written book that asks nothing of the reader, but, oh, the setting does much to redeem it.
    • 3/5
      Atmospheric, ultimately depressing novel of Englanders in the Spanish Civil War.
    • 4/5
      I knew nothing about Spain in the war and felt that I learnt an enormous amount from reading this book. It is about Harry Brett a reluctant spy for the British Secret Service who is sent to Madrid to find his old schoolfriend Sandy Forsyth, now a shady business man and to regain his confidence. Meanwhile Sandy's girlfriend is on her own secret mission to find her former lover Bernie Piper who vanished on the battlefileds of the Jarama. An action-packed thriller that I really enjoyed.
    • 4/5
      I began reading Winter in Madrid with the idea of a mystery and found it difficult to follow in those terms. Once I started reading the book as a historical novel, it began to really take form. C.J. Sansom has done an excellent job of relating conditions in Spain through the 1930s and 40s. The Spanish Civil War has just ended and Hitler is preparing to move into Spain in WWII. A young man from Britain, survivor of the Dunkirk fiasco, finds himself heading to Spain as a spy. He is very uncomfortable with this assignment because the person he is to spy on was once his friend. Harry was chosen for two reasons, one, that he had already been active in the war and two, he had been a school- and room-mate of the person he is asked to spy on.Three boys at public school in England, through the wonders of coincidence in life, have all become entrenched in Spain in various capacities. Bernie, the Communist, friend of Harry’s; Harry, raised by his aunt and uncle - a Colonel; and Sandy, the discontent son of clergy and somewhat subversive by nature.From the historical perspective, the book features post-monarchist Spain; first the Civil War which put Franco in power, followed by WWII and the concerns of whether Franco will ally himself with Hitler. Spain is devastated in the Civil War and the inroads being made by Stalin and by Hitler along Spain’s borders puts the country in extreme poverty, famine and desperation. This is the background into which Harry has arrived at the Spanish Embassy for training to spy on Sandy. Harry finds himself much more involved than he ever expected once he gets to Spain. Having been there in 1931 with Bernie, he is overwhelmed by the change. This becomes even more convoluted when he happens to meet up with a fellow Briton, Barbara, who he remembers as Bernie’s girlfriend on a trip Harry took to Spain in 1936 to find out if Bernie is alive, a trip taken on at the request of Bernie’s parents. Now, in 1940, it seems that they are all about to be drawn in together.Written in three parts, Autumn, The Beginning of Winter, and Deep Cold, this could as easily be representing the degrees of involvement as describing the time of year and weather. Sansom weaves with great texture the stories of not just the three schoolmates or the two wars, but the several people who play well-defined roles in and out of the schoolmates’ lives. Vividly depicting the chaos, the strengths and weaknesses of the people, the determination to stay alive in the city of Madrid, and in the prison camps, this is what makes the book flow. Though at times jumping back into the time of the Civil War, then returning to the possibility of Spain joining Hitler’s war can be a bit unsettling at times, it does work out. The final part of the book becomes much faster moving with lots of action. Though there are some slower parts in the beginning while the background is being set, the rest of the book and the ending are well worth the read. Definitely recommended to war aficionados, Spanish mid-20th century history, romance and intrigue.
    • 4/5
      One of the most engrossing novels I have read this year, and a darkly fascinating insight into a twentieth century revolution, the Civil War in Spain. Harry, Bernie and Sandy are childhood friends at an exclusive public school: the golden boy, the scholarship student from a working class background, and the rebel. Bernie and Harry travel to Spain in the early 1930s and witness the upheaval of a country in political turmoil, Bernie siding with the communist faction and Harry desperate to remain neutral. Only when Bernie is reported missing presumed dead after the Battle of Jarama in 1937 is Harry drawn deeper into a tangled web of espionage and deception, betraying old friends and risking his own life to do what he feels is right.The plot is fast-paced and intricate, carrying the reader along with the same fragile hopes as experienced by the characters, all the while aware that nobody can be trusted. Harry, Bernie, Barbara, Sandy and Sofia are strong, enterprising and brave, living in Franco's Spain, but they are far from heroic. Scarred by the war, either directly like Bernie or through the lives of others, these are people acting out of desperation and humanity. In fact, one of the most intriguing characters is Sandy, who admits to being 'bad', but whose personality is shaded grey by how others view and remember him. I also took to Barbara and Sofia, ordinary women who have to be strong for those they love; in such extreme situations, it is easy to believe that we would all have the courage to do whatever is necessary.The only letdown for me is the ending, which is far too pat after the layered narrative and steadily building tension of the bulk of the novel. Such a story requires a dramatic conclusion, but after such lengthy planning, the final stage was rushed and almost read like a Hollywood script. I object to epilogues for much the same reason - wondering 'Did everything work out for the best?' is sometimes better,and more fitting, than learning the fate of the characters in a chapter of forced dialogue.All in all, though, a thoroughly gripping read.
    • 4/5
      I liked this book very much, it had a very interesting plot and gave a great insight into Spain in the late 1930's. It did take me a while to get into it but then could'nt put it down.
    • 5/5
      I love it when I unexpectedly come across a book in which the author tells a story around events that actually happened and people who really existed. It makes me want to learn more about the events and how they shaped the lives of the people affected. This is one of those books.During Spain’s civil war Bernie Piper, a communist from Britain, joined the International Brigades and was sent to fight against the fascists. The last he was heard from was at the battle of Jarama in 1937. Bernie’s parents and his girlfriend, Barbara Clare, ask an old public school friend to help search for him. They come up empty.Several years later the old friend, Harry Brett, is wounded at Dunkirk and suffers post traumatic stress disorder. Recovering at home in England, he is contacted by the British Secret Service. They are interested in Harry because he can speak several languages and therefore can be put to use - ostensibly as a translator. In reality however, Harry is instructed to spy on another old school friend, Sandy Forsyth, who is busily scheming to take financial advantage of the political situation during World War Two. Harry is surprised to discover that Barbara is still in Spain and has paired up with Sandy. As the story evolves the reader discovers that all three characters, Harry, Sandy and Barbara are concealing secrets from each other that when revealed, will irretrievably alter the course of their lives.This book is written in a tone that evokes the era in which it takes place like none other that I’ve read in a long time. Written in period detail and expertly researched, it was easy to picture the cold streets of Madrid, the poverty and desperation of the people, the hopes and fears. I could feel the terror of the children as they were unceremoniously rounded up and delivered to church orphanages for ‘processing’ after their parents, who were deemed enemies of the state, disappeared forever. In fact the author dedicates the book “to the memory of the thousands of children of Republican parents who disappeared into the orphanages of Franco’s Spain”.The politics in Spain during its civil war and the role it played during the Second World War is complicated to say the least. There is a short historical note at the end of the book explaining the political atmosphere during the years the story takes place. This was helpful in giving insight into some of the real people depicted in the book.Having read Guernica by Dave Boling not long ago, my interest in what happened in Spain during these difficult years was piqued. As a result, I was very pleased to have the opportunity to read C.J. Sansom’s Winter in Madrid and I highly recommend it.
    • 5/5
      It takes a darned good book to get a 5-star review out of me. I'd give this one 10 stars if it were an option. In 1936 Spain, as World War II was gearing up, a military uprising led by General Franco sprang up against a leftist government and the Spanish Civil War began. Unable to obtain help from any other country, the leftist government turned to the Stalin who was all too happy to export his particular brand of "assistance." And so it was that the Spanish people found themselves in the crossfire between two of the most undesireable factions fighting for control of their country: facists or communists. The breadth of the destruction of Spain both during the Civil War and the years following the dictator Franco's rule over Spain cannot be overstated. And this is the riveting time period that C.J. Sansom brings to life in his novel, Winter in Madrid. Harry Brett finds himself at a bit of a loss whenout of the army on a medical discharge after the British retreat from the advancing Germans at Dunkirk. Recruited by British Intelligence, whose goal is to keep Spain from entering WWII on the side of the Axis powers, Harry heads off to Madrid to spy on an old school chum, Sandy Forsyth, who may or may not be supporting Franco's fascist regime. But Sandy isn't Harry's only connection to Madrid. Bernie Piper, another old schoolmate who dropped out of school to join the International Brigades, died there fighting the fascists during the Civil War. Except Bernie didn't die. And Sandy isn't who he appears to be. This novel was nearly as perfect as a novel can be. From a historical perspective, Sansom's research is a wonder and more importantly, his ability to translate his research into a seamless story is nothing shortof amazing. The Spanish Civil War was a politically convoluted mess. Yet Sansom never loses the reader. It is impossible not to feel incredibly illuminated about a period in history often glossed over. The plot is perfectly paced, eventually reaching a conclusion that reflects the ambiguity of the time, and the characters are some of the most fully developed ever seen in a historical novel of this scope. For any historical buff, A Reader's Respite is not just recommending Winter in Madrid to you, we're telling you that you MUST read this book. If you're looking for an even more comprehensive education about Spain's Civil War and their role in WWII, couple this novel with Dave Boling's award-winning novel, Guernica.
    • 5/5
      Very well written - great characterisation and settings with a good amount of little known history ( to me anyway).I just felt that the conclusion was dealt with a little summarily, otherwise it is a 5 star read
    • 5/5
      The coming of the second world war has tended to overshadow this dark period in European history because what followed was so much worse. Sansom captures in a gripping and plausible tale the tension and brutality of this war where the Left and Right were able to practice before the big event that followed. Period and personalities are realistically evoked in a story that holds you from early pages until the end.
    • 4/5
      Unecessarily complicated on the political front I felt. Well written, but a little predictable. A good enough read, but not my favourite book in the world.