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Ten Great Books set in ANDALUCÍA

7th September 2021

Andalucía is the latest location for our ‘Ten Great Books Set In…’ series. Ten great books set in Andalucía. Andalucía is a large autonomous region in Southern Spain. It has cities steeped in history, it has farmlands, coast and mountains. It was under Moorish rule from the 8th -15th centuries and this legacy shows in its architecture, including the Alcázar castle in Seville as well as Córdoba’s Mezquita Mosque-Cathedral and Granada’s Alhambra palace. It is a place of legend. It is also a place with the highest mountain in Spain, the southernmost ski resort in Europe, and a myriad of famous beaches.

¡Ponme una caña! – literally ‘Give me sugarcane’, in fact ‘Give me a small beer’… Andalucían expression

Ten Great Books set in ANDALUCÍAAll My Mothers by Joanna Glen

MEET EVA MARTÍNEZ-GREEN, AN ONLY CHILD FULL OF QUESTIONS ABOUT HER BEGINNINGS.

But between her emotionally absent mother and her physically absent father, there is nobody to answer them.

So Eva begins a journey to find these answers for herself. But as she searches across continents for real love, she meets women who challenge her idea of what a mother should be, and who will change her life forever…

Court of Lions by Jane Johnson

Kate Fordham, escaping terrible trauma, has fled to the beautiful sunlit city of Granada, the ancient capital of the Moors in Spain, where she is scraping by with an unfulfilling job in a busy bar. One day in the glorious gardens of the Alhambra, once home to Sultan Abu Abdullah Mohammed, also known as Boabdil, Kate finds a scrap of paper hidden in one of the ancient walls. Upon it, in strange symbols, has been inscribed a message from another age. It has lain undiscovered since before the Fall of Granada in 1492, when the city was surrendered to Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. Born of love, in a time of danger and desperation, the fragment will be the catalyst that changes Kate’s life forever.

An epic saga of romance and redemption, Court of Lions brings one of the great turning-points in history to life, telling the stories of a modern woman and the last Moorish sultan of Granada, as they both move towards their cataclysmic destinies.

Ten Great Books set in ANDALUCÍAA Parrot in a Pepper Tree by Chris Stewart

A PARROT IN A PEPPER TREE, the sequel to Lemons, follows the lives of Chris, Ana and their daughter, Chloë, as they get to grips with a misanthropic parrot who joins their home, Spanish school life, neighbours in love, their amazement at Chris appearing on the bestseller lists… and their shock at discovering that their beloved valley is once more under threat of a dam.

A Parrot in the Pepper Tree also looks back on Chris Stewart’s former life – the hard times shearing in midwinter Sweden (and driving across the frozen sea to reach island farms): his first taste of Spain, learning flamenco guitar as a 20-year old: and his illustrious music career, drumming for his school band Genesis (sacked at 17, he never quite became Phil Collins), and then for a circus.

Blood Wedding by P J Brooke

A death of a Muslim student, Leila, turns into a terrorist attack in Grenada. Max Romero takes on the investigation, and finds that she was researching the impact of the Spanish Civil War on his own home village in the Sierra Nevada. Hassan becomes the prime suspect, with links to a terrorist group, but the police’s insensitive handling of the crime leads to his suicide. Beautifully describes Granada and the Sierra Nevada.

Flower from Castile (Book 1 – Alhambra Decree) by Lilian Gafni

The Flower from Castile Trilogy opens in 1491 during the tumultuous unification of Spain under Catholicism. The battle for the conquest of Granada, which was held by the Islamic Moors for 700 years, empties Spain’s coffers and decimates the ranks of her soldiers. Beautiful young Isabella Obrigon lives a life of privilege in Seville until she is caught between these two powerful nations. She is forced to uncover a secret about her birth and becomes trapped between two faiths and two peoples. She must decide whether to follow her heart and join her endangered brethren seeking exile from the brutal and infamous Inquisition, or stay and live a lie. When Isabella is held prisoner in the fabled Alhambra palace in Granada, an encounter with Miguel Costa seals her fate. Nearby, Christopher Columbus-who may have secrets of his own-waits impatiently for the war to be won. His dreams of exploration and fabulous wealth can only come true if he receives a summons from Queen Isabella.

Ten Great Books set in ANDALUCÍAIndiscretion by Hannah Fielding

Secrets, danger and passion under the scorching Spanish sun from the Award-winning author of The Echoes of Love. Set in the wild landscape of Andalucia, Indiscretion is a compelling story of love and identity, danger and desire, and the uncertainty of happiness when two worlds collide. Written in Fielding s signature style, infused with an old-school Hollywood glamour, Indiscretion evokes the drama and passion of 1950s post-war Spain.

Pasodoble by Martin Cross

The high Alpujarra mountains in Granada province, southern Spain. When human remains are found in a village reservoir, Inspector Moreno’s investigations uncover a dangerous world of gangsters, prostitutes and eccentric British expats. Solving crime is thirsty work, but Moreno is seldom far from a glass of something cold – and of course, a delicious tapa to go with it.

Shadows Over the Spanish Sun by Caroline Montague

A country in the shadow of war. A love that burns through the decades…

Mia Ferris’s heart has always belonged in Spain. Every childhood summer was spent at her grandfather’s hacienda, riding together amongst the olive trees or listening to his stories of the past. So when she learns that he has fallen from his horse, she knows that she belongs by his bedside – even if it means leaving behind her life in London, and her new fiancé.

But as Leonardo fights for his life, and Mia to save the family home from financial ruin, secrets begin to emerge that tell a different story of the past – a terrible history that begins with a boy running for his life over the Andalusian hills, and ends with a forbidden love that only war can destroy…

As Mia untangles the passions and betrayals of the past, everything she thought she knew is turned upside down. Can she heal the wounds of the past, and face the truth of her own heart?

The Poet’s Wife by Rebecca Stonehill

Granada, 1920. Free-spirited Luisa and young poet Eduardo fall in love, cementing a bond that can never be broken.

Behind the jasmine filled courtyard, perched amongst houses like clouds on a hilltop, stands a beautiful villa; Carmen de las Estrellas. Beneath its walls live Eduardo and Luisa with their thriving family, but war is looming, casting its shadow over the household.

When Civil War finally breaks out, Luisa and Eduardo must fiercely protect those dear to them. Yet these are turbulent times, and as each of their children begin to make their way in the world, the solace of home cannot shield them from the horrors of war.

The Return by Victoria Hislop

Sonia orders a cup of coffee in a little cafe and with the serendipitous event she finds herself learning about one family’s fight to survive the Civil War. An insightful exploration of the horrors of the war. Creative dance and music weave their way through the book.

 

What an amazing selection of books there is in Andalucía! If you have any to add to the list, please do so in the Comments below…

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