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Winter in Madrid

By C. J. Sansom

(18)

| Hardcover | 9781405005463

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Critics

Old-School Spies

England’s enduring class system can be aptly summed up in two words: public school. Those who attend English public schools — in reality expensive private schools — inherit a kind of right to rule. They learn how to survive in a world no less riven b ... (read full critics)

nytimes published on Sat, 18 Sep 2010

Ventures into the Spanish past

The complex plots of C. J. Sansom’s novel revolve around the adventures in Spain during the civil war and its aftermath of three old boys of a fictional public school. Harry Brett comes from an army family, prospers at school and is elected a fellow ... (read full critics)

spectator published on Fri, 17 Sep 2010

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2 Reviews

1 person find this helpful

One should never buy a book because of comments on the back cover like "if you liked... you'll love this book"! Buying "Winter in Madrid" I violated this basic rule and - obviously - I was disappointed. The back cover comment suggested a comparison with "The Shadow of the Wind", but the only analogy ... (continue)

One should never buy a book because of comments on the back cover like "if you liked... you'll love this book"! Buying "Winter in Madrid" I violated this basic rule and - obviously - I was disappointed. The back cover comment suggested a comparison with "The Shadow of the Wind", but the only analogy between the two books is their Spanish setting... Far from being captivating as Zafon's, Sansom's plot is slow and muddled and appears as a badly-dosed mixture of potentially tasty ingredients such as political conspiracies, spying and romance. It took me a while to finish the novel (and many times I was on the verge of laying it aside) and when I finally reached its end, it left an unpleasant taste in my mouth, as usually failed cooking experiments do.

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Chibena said on Mar 24, 2009 | 1 feedback

1 person find this helpful

I just loved this book. It is a magnificent story about life in Spain in 1940 after the Civil War. At the same time as being a spy story it paints a picture of starving people struggling to make ends meet, as Franco deliberates as to whether he should enter the war raging in Europe on Hitler's side ... (continue)

I just loved this book. It is a magnificent story about life in Spain in 1940 after the Civil War. At the same time as being a spy story it paints a picture of starving people struggling to make ends meet, as Franco deliberates as to whether he should enter the war raging in Europe on Hitler's side or stay neutral. The central character is Harry Brett, a victim of the retreat of the British at Dunkirk, and rescued back to England. He is suffering still mentally, having flash-backs, but physically better. He is asked, because he speaks Spanish and knows Spain, to become a spy for Britain, working in the British Embassy under the guise of a translator. He agrees. His mission is to befriend an old school friend and get information from him about the business deals - believed to be somewhat of a shady nature - and inform his masters at the Embassy. He is reluctant but agrees. But things get very complicated and he finds himself involved with a Spanish woman, an involvement that changes everything.
A brilliant, exciting, well-told story. Characters are superb. The ending is quite a shock - not at all expected. Wonderfully moving story of passion for deeply held beliefs and people.

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GraJon said on Jan 24, 2009 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback