In my fourth year of university I wrote an essay about the Canadian and American volunteers who fought in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). I remember really enjoying the research and thinking I could see how someone could become interested enough to spend years writing a thesis on a historical topic. Though my research focused on the volunteers and I never got a good grasp on the ins and outs of the war, over the years I’ve remained vaguely interested and have read a few novels set during this period. Maybe you don’t want to read an essay or thesis, but you’d like to get a sense of the Spanish Civil War through fiction… read on for four brief descriptions of very different novels. I hope one of them will pique your curiosity.

For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway (1940)

Obviously, this is a classic! After travelling to Spain as a reporter in 1937 Hemingway wrote this novel centering on an American volunteer fighting in a guerilla band. The description on Goodreads concludes, “Greater in power, broader in scope, and more intensely emotional than any of the author’s previous works, it stands as one of the best war novels of all time.”

Davita’s Harp by Chaim Potok (1985)

Reading this novel by Jewish American author Chaim Potok is what inspired me to write my essay on the North American volunteers who fought in Spain. Davita’s Harp is a coming of age story set in New York City. Davita grows up with radical communist parents, including a father who travels to Spain as a reporter to cover the conflict. This is a good choice if you’re looking for an emotional story of family, faith, and independence, rather than a focus on the Spanish Civil War.

The Time in Between by Maria Duenas (2009)

Like Davita’s Harp this 600-age novel focuses on one character over a long stretch of time.  Sira is a poor seamstress who moves from Spain to Morocco and eventually ends up involved in espionage during World War II. I recommend this book if you’re interested in a vivid setting and a taste of the politics of the wars.

The Muse by Jessie Burton (2016)

I enjoyed the way The Muse wove together two storylines connected by a painting. In one Odelle Bastien, a young woman from Trinidad, gets a job in an art gallery in London, England in the 1960s. In the other Olive Schloss and her parents travel from England to Spain just before the outbreak of the Sanish Civil War. If you’re looking for a mystery with a varied cast of characters, this is the one for you.

Have you read any of these novels?