Overview

Born into obscurity in a rural backwater of central Spain in the waning years of the eighteenth century, Baldomero Espartero (17931879) led a life resembling that of a character created by Stendhal or Gabriel Garca Mrquez. As a seventy-five-year-old man he was offered and turned down the throne of an industrializing nation. During his illustrious life, he fought against Napoleon, Simn Bolvar, and other Latin American independence leaders; won a seven-year civil war; served as regent for the child queen Isabella II; and spent years in exile in England. He governed as prime minister and also received multiple noble titles, including that of prince, which was normally reserved for members of the royal family. By his sixties, Espartero represented an almost mythical figure. Based on comprehensive archival research in Spain, Argentina, and the United Kingdom, The Sword of Luchana explores the public and private lives of this archetypal nineteenth-century hero. Adrian Shubert gives voice to the mass of ordinary Spaniards who revered Espartero as the embodiment of liberty and freedom, and to Jacinta Martnez de Sicilia y Santa Cruz, his wife of more than fifty years who played a key role in his public career. Including unprecedented access to Espartero's personal papers, and set against the background of wars and revolutions in Spain and its American empire, The Sword of Luchana is a compelling account of the history of a crucial period of war, revolution, and political and social change.

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9781487508609

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Reviews

Adrian Shubert's historical biography of the enigmatic figure of General Espartero is an innovative and sweeping re-telling of Spain's tumultuous nineteenth century, told from the perspective of Spain's first public celebrity and, equally important, that of his impressive wife. Shubert builds on revisionist nineteenth-century historiography about liberalism, nationalization, and gender to weave a relevant and compelling story of a life and a time worth remembering. - Pamela Radcliff, Professor and Chair of the Department of History, University of California, San Diego This is a thorough biography of the most influential general in nineteenth-century Spanish politics. An early mixture of charismatic leadership and populism, General Espartero embodied both patriotic feelings and defense of the constitutional monarchy against absolutism. - Jose Alvarez Junco, Professor Emeritus of the History of Thought and Political and Social Movements, Complutense University of Madrid With this book, Adrian Shubert revendicates not only the figure of Baldomero Espartero but also the often misunderstood and neglected, especially in the English-speaking world, image of nineteenth-century Spain. This is a true tour de force of an ambitious, restless, and always original historian. - Antonio Cazorla-Sanchez, Professor of History, Trent University

Author Information

Adrian Shubert is a University Professor in the Department of History at York University.

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