Madrid: A Literary Guide for Travellers

Description

Hemingway called Madrid 'the most Spanish of all cities' and the 'centre of the world'; it was a place that drew him back again and again. But he wasn't the only writer to have been inspired by this proud city which fizzes with energy and is so infused with art and literature. From the Cafe Gijon, a popular hang-out of Lorca, Dali and Bunuel, and the Bar Chicote, Hemingway's preferred watering hole and a popular haunt for bohemian Madrid during the Civil War, to the Hotel Florida where John Dos Passos and Antoine de Saint Exupery used to stay, to the grave of Lope de Vega and the house in which Cervantes took his last breath, this unique guide takes the reader on a colourful journey that spans four centuries and brings to life the people and places that make Madrid the heart of literary Spain.

Jules Stewart is a journalist and author. He was born in New York and was a lecturer in Spanish language and literature before moving to Madrid, where he lived for twenty years. He now lives in London. His books include Madrid: The History; Albert: A Life; The Kaiser's Mission to Kabul; On Afghanistan's Plains: The Story of Britain's Afghan Wars; and Gotham Rising: New York in the 1930s (I.B.Tauris).

Stewart [...] give[s] a full and rewarding portrait of this city that he clearly knows intimately, paving the way for fellow explorers, both in the literal and literary sense. * New York Journal of Books * A tour de force. No one knows Madrid better than Jules Stewart, and there could be no better guide to the city's rich literary past. Destined to become required reading for anyone with even a passing interest in Spain. -- Jason Webster, author of 'Andalus and Sacred Sierra' For an elegantly written and deeply knowledgeable literary tour of Madrid, there could be no better guide than this wonderful volume by Jules Stewart. -- Sir Paul Preston, author of 'The Spanish Civil War'