Winter In Madrid
Penguin - Viking, January 2009
In September 1940, the Spanish Civil War is over and Madrid lies in ruins . . .
Into this uncertain world comes Harry Brett, a reluctant spy for the British Secret Service who was traumatized by his recent experience at Dunkirk. Sent to Spain to gain the confidence of Sandy Forsyth, an old school friend turned shady Madrid businessman, Brett finds himself involved in a dangerous game and surrounded by memories. Meanwhile, Sandy's girlfriend, ex-Red Cross nurse Barbara Clare, is engaged in a secret mission of her own -- to find her former lover who has vanished on the bloody battlefields of the Jarama.
Winter in Madrid is a riveting tale that offers a remarkable sense of history unfolding and the profound impact of impossible choices.
paperback | ISBN: 9780143115137 | Publication Date: January 2009
Reviews:
"Sansom deftly plots his politically charged tale for maximal suspense, all the way up to its stunning conclusion."
--Publishers Weekly
"There are touches of Graham Greene. . . . Hemingway's here too. . . . But Sansom
transfigures his sources into a moral universe very much his own."
--The Independent
"Sansom can lay claim to a place among the most distinguished of modern historical novelists."
--P.D. James
"As always, former lawyer Sansom (Dark Fire, etc.) fleshes out the detection with rich historic details presented at a stately pace."
--Kirkus Reviews
"Atmosphere abounds in this marvelously drawn novel, which essentially
is all about conspiracies to unseat King Henry, centered on resistance
to his dynasty and his Protestantism, which were both unpopular in the
North."
--Booklist (starred review)
"The reality of Madrid in 1940 is recreated in authentic and believable
detail. Sansom evokes the sights and sounds of a city [where] fear,
hatred and desolation are palpable. There are some powerful set pieces
in the novel. . . . As a portrait of a traumatized city, wrapped in
silence because speech was dangerous, Winter in Madrid is a remarkable achievement."
--Times Literary Supplement (London)
"Sansom seems to have been born with, or instinctively acquired, that
precious balance of creativity and research that lets a mystery set in
another time walk a delicate line between history and humanity."
--Chicago Tribune
"It is a bold author who, having found acclaim with [three] historical
novels firmly grounded in a particular period, sets [this] novel in an
entirely different place some five hundred years later -- but that is
what C. J. Sansom has done, and he has pulled it off magnificently. . .
. Winter in Madrid shares
with [his previous novels] the author's enviable ability to land his
readers in an alien world, yet make them feel entirely at home. . . .
In Sansom's capable hands, story, characters and that indefinable
spirit of place meld and twist into a narrative that grips the reader
throughout its five hundred-plus pages . . . weaving together hard
facts with romantic fiction -- his bleak winter thriller chills to the
bone."
--Literary Review (London)
"Sansom cannot be easily be pigeonholed. [Winter in Madrid]
subtly mixes elements of different genres: part thriller, part romance,
and part historical drama. . . . Post-Civil war Madrid is finely and
minutely observed, giving the entire novel a remarkable sense of place.
. . . Together with the book's intricate and tightly structured
plotting, Sansom spins the reader through to its bloody conclusion. . .
. Compelling and well-written, [this is] a well-crafted and
entertaining piece of fiction."
--Sunday Express (London)
"Sansom's splendid novel is not only similar in backdrop to For Whom the Bell Tolls;
it is also written in much the same plain and direct style (though
Sansom's descriptive powers . . . are quite remarkable). . . . It comes
as no surprise to learn that Sansom's novel spent month after month on
London's bestseller lists."
--The Philadelphia Inquirer
"A compelling tale of game-playing, memories, and the impact of
impossible lices. If you like Sebastian Faulks and Carlos
Ruiz Zafón, you'll love this."
--Daily Express (London)
