Spain: Neither united, nor great, nor free

The story of Franco’s dictatorship, written by and for a new generation

No political phenomenon has impacted the course of recent history quite so heavily as that of the dictatorship. Spain: Neither United nor Great, nor Free is the first book to offer a full and up-to-date retelling of the Francoist regime which aims to engage the generations that lived through it, as well as readers seeking to rediscover and better understand those critical decades.

Nicolás Sesma’s ground-breaking new history of the dictatorship marks a departure from narratives that focus solely on Francisco Franco and instead puts the Spanish public at front and centre of his research. By collating historiographical references from Spain and abroad, he offers an ambitious and multidimensional reinterpretation of events. To achieve this, Sesma incorporates the perspectives of people from across Spanish territory and from all sectors of society, some of whom are given a chance to contribute their voice to the recording of history for the very first time.

Along the way, his analysis is accompanied by cultural references – from literature and cinema to graphic novels and pop art – which serve to illustrate this fascinating new study of the dictatorship, framed within an international research context.