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An Englishman in Madrid

by Eduardo Mendoza

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4823150,597 (3.4)16
Anthony Whitelands, an English art historian, is invited to Madrid to value an aristocrat's collection. At a welcome lunch he encounters Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera, founder and leader of the Falange, a nationalist party whose antics are bringing the country ever closer to civil war. The paintings turn out to be worthless, but before Whitelands can leave for London the duque's daughter Paquita reveals a secret and genuine treasure, held for years in the cellars of her ancestral home. Afraid that the duque will cash in his wealth to finance the Falange, the Spanish authorities resolve to keep a close eye on the Englishman, who is also being watched by his own embassy. As Whitelands--ever the fool for a pretty face--vies with Primo de Rivera for Paquita's affections, he learns of a final interested party: Madrid is crawling with Soviet spies, and Moscow will stop at nothing to secure the hidden prize.… (more)
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» See also 16 mentions

Spanish (21)  English (9)  French (1)  All languages (31)
Showing 1-5 of 9 (next | show all)
Riña de gatos. Madrid 1936
Eduardo Mendoza
Publicado: 2010 | 348 páginas
Novela Drama Histórico

Un inglés llamado Anthony Whitelands llega a bordo de un tren al Madrid convulso de la primavera de 1936. Deberá autenticar un cuadro desconocido, perteneciente a un amigo de José Antonio Primo de Rivera, cuyo valor económico puede resultar determinante para favorecer un cambio político crucial en la historia de España.Turbulentos amores con mujeres de distintas clases sociales distraen al crítico de arte sin darle tiempo a calibrar cómo se van multiplicando sus perseguidores: policías, diplomáticos, políticos y espías, en una atmósfera de conspiración y de algarada.Las excepcionales dotes narrativas de Eduardo Mendoza combinan a la perfección la gravedad de los sucesos narrados con la presencia, muy sutil, de su conocido sentido del humor, ya que toda tragedia es también parte de la comedia humana.
  libreriarofer | Jul 20, 2023 |
9788408097259
  archivomorero | Nov 9, 2022 |
This was an interesting read. Anthony Whitelands, a gentleman and art historian (specializing in Velázquez) travels to Madrid in 1936. Actually, he is supposed to assess a picture that is with an aristocratic family, but he gets caught in the turmoil of the Spanish Civil War. He is spied on by the Spanish police and also monitored by the English embassy. He is used by various political groups, although he is politically neutral and is not interested in it at all. He gets involved in love affairs, which must not be. Like the cat, he must have seven lives because there are always dead people around him, only he is spared. ( )
  Ameise1 | Mar 19, 2020 |
Readers keep asking why this book won a prestigious Spanish publishing award. It is an OK effort but really too goofy to take seriously.

You can read the online discussion for yourself, I am not going to rehash it here. Yes the book is interesting and yes it is goofy. How can the protagonist be such a combination of being deeply knowledgeable about art and painting (and one would think, therefore, the human condition that is expressed in art) while at the same time being so utterly naïve?

My answer to the logic of the award is that in his inexplicable disarray, our hero Anthony Whitelands reminded the judges of Don Quixote and they voted their Spanish hearts.

I received a review copy of "An Englishman in Madrid" by Eduardo Mendoza, translated by Nick Caistor through NetGalley.com. ( )
  Dokfintong | Feb 7, 2016 |
I love a good historical mystery that really gives me new insights into the period in which it’s set. Eduardo Mendoza’s An Englishman in Madrid is just such a volume. Set on the cusp of the Spanish Civil War, An Englishman in Madrid follows the experiences of Anthony Whiltelands, a British art historian, who’s been sent to Madrid to value a nobleman’s collection of paintings—a collection the nobleman may have to liquidate quickly if the war’s onset forces him to flee the country. The collection is a disappointment, but then Whitelands discovers the nobleman own have a previously unknown Velázquez. The discovery could ignite Whiteland’s stagnant scholarly career—and give him a chance to outshine his main professional rival.

At the same time that Whitelands races to authenticate the painting, he also finds himself coming into contact with a variety of characters who will be involved in the Spanish Civil War. There’s the leader of Spain’s reactionary Falange movement; British diplomats and at least one spy; a mysterious Russian agent; Spain’s soon-to-be-deposed president; General Francisco Franco, who will become the leader of fascist Spain; and Spanish security forces. Mendoza’s novel caputres the chaos of the time, particularly the many motives—personal, altruistic, and mistaken—that drive pre-war Spanish politics.

This is a novel that’s doubly worth reading, both for its story line and for its context. The prose of Caistor’s translation is sleek, helping to propel the chaotic events of the novel forward. Mendoza writes with a mix of cynicism and insight that is both heart-breaking and, at moments, hilarious. ( )
  Sarah-Hope | Sep 6, 2015 |
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Rosa estuvo a mi lado y para ella es esta fábula
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Pertenece a la extraña condición humana que toda vida podía haber sido distinta de la que fue. (José Ortega y Gasset, Velázquez)
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Anthony Whitelands, an English art historian, is invited to Madrid to value an aristocrat's collection. At a welcome lunch he encounters Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera, founder and leader of the Falange, a nationalist party whose antics are bringing the country ever closer to civil war. The paintings turn out to be worthless, but before Whitelands can leave for London the duque's daughter Paquita reveals a secret and genuine treasure, held for years in the cellars of her ancestral home. Afraid that the duque will cash in his wealth to finance the Falange, the Spanish authorities resolve to keep a close eye on the Englishman, who is also being watched by his own embassy. As Whitelands--ever the fool for a pretty face--vies with Primo de Rivera for Paquita's affections, he learns of a final interested party: Madrid is crawling with Soviet spies, and Moscow will stop at nothing to secure the hidden prize.

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