‘What Have You Done for Victory?’
A Cultural History of the Spanish Civil War
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Reaktion Books
Publishing:1st Oct '26
£29.00
This title is due to be published on 1st October, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
The Spanish Civil War (1936–9) inspired an extraordinary range of cultural production, from literature, theatre, cinema, journalism and radio to visual art, song, dance, memoir and comics. This book – the first comprehensive study of the war's cultural output – considers works by both Spanish and foreign supporters of the Republic and Franco’s forces, with particular attention paid to women’s contributions, to reveal a conflict more complex than conventional narratives suggest. The book highlights how culture became a weapon in the fight against fascism while reflecting the passions, anxieties and ideals of the era and since. By combining well-known and lesser-known works across all media, it offers a nuanced and accessible portrait of a global struggle that continues to shape our understanding of political and cultural engagement.
"This book is a tour de force: based on exhaustive, rigorous research, it is a highly readable, ambitious, and thought-provoking cultural history of the Spanish war, including its lead-up, international dimensions, and long-term consequences in both Spain and elsewhere." - Sebastiaan Faber, Professor of Hispanic Studies at Oberlin College and author of Memory Battles of the Spanish Civil War
"‘What Have You Done for Victory?’ is excellent, rigorous and well-written. This admirably wide-ranging and detailed cultural history of the Spanish Civil War will open doors to a wide area of new cultural research." - Alison Ribeiro de Menezes, Professor of Hispanic Studies at the University of Warwick and author of Embodying Memory in Contemporary Spain
"Wide-ranging and richly documented, Jo Labanyi’s ‘What Have You Done for Victory?’ shows how the clash over cultural meanings was central in a war that was not only Spain’s but also a pivotal battle in larger wars of social change across twentieth-century Europe and the world." - Helen Graham, Professor Emerita of Modern European History, Royal Holloway, University of London, and author of The Spanish Civil War: A Very Short Introduction
ISBN: 9781836392781
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
504 pages