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"[A] stimulating, well-researched book."

Political Studies Review
"Iconoclastic and provocative conclusions . . . not a book that can be easily ignored."

Book Description
Serving as a major new interpretation of the historical, political, and cultural legacy of the International Brigades, this book dissents from the orthodox interpretation of this period in history. Questioned are the role of artists and intellectuals in the Spanish Civil War, the basis of the Republic's claim to spiritual superiority, and the assumptions behind the notion that art and the good cause are necessarily synonymous. Argued is the notion that the civil war can be seen as the climax of the struggle between the claims of culture and art for autonomy and even for supremacy and the demands of political commitment. This conflict is traced through the reactions of figures such as W. H. Auden, Stephen Spender, George Orwell, and Benjamin Britten, among others.

About the Author
Robert Stradling is emeritus professor of history at Cardiff University of Wales. He is the author of many books, including The Irish and the Spanish Civil War 1936-39, Brother Against Brother: Experiences of a British Volunteer in the Spanish Civil War, and Europe and the Decline of Spain: A Study of the Spanish System, 1580-1720.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"In this ground-breaking and controversial study of the myths surrounding the International Brigades, Robert Stradling argues that the civil war can be seen as the climax of the struggle between the claims of culture and art for autonomy - even for supremacy - and the demands of political commitment. Stradling traces this conflict through the reactions of figures such as W. H. Auden, Stephen Spender, George Orwell and Benjamin Britten, as well as many lesser-known writers, and in terms of the Brigades' reputation and history in the context of some of the war's key episodes." History and Legend dissents from the orthodox interpretations of the role of artists and intellectuals in the Spanish Civil War, questions the basis of the Republic's claim to spiritual superiority and analyses the assumptions behind the notion that 'art' and 'the good cause' are necessarily synonymous. It is a major new interpretation of the historical, political and cultural legacy of the International Brigades.

FROM THE CRITICS

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