The Holy Innocents
A Novel
Published on 22. July 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
144 pages
978-0-300-27513-1 (ISBN)
Description
A shattering tale of oppression and resistance during Franco's dictatorship, by a beloved Spanish novelist
"A ferocious story."-The Guardian
"[Delibes] is a master of compression, using the art of omission to convey a slow-burning sense of injustice. . . . Peter Bush's exemplary translation remains faithful to Delibes's Castilian original."-Tobias Grey, Financial Times
Named one of the 100 best Spanish-language novels of the 20th century (El Mundo) * Adapted into an award-winning film by Mario Camus
In the arid province of Extremadura in 1960s Spain, life on a country estate carries on as it has for centuries: wealthy landowners live in luxury while workers endure lives of poverty and humiliation. Amid this exploitation and injustice live Regula, an estate's gatekeeper, and her husband, Paco, the hunting attendant of the contemptuous Senorito Ivan. Regula's brother Azarias toils as a farmhand, but he prefers chasing tawny owls at night, training his pet jackdaw, and caring for his young niece, who is bedridden. When Paco is injured, the nature-loving Azarias is forced to take over as hunting attendant. But after Senorito Ivan commits an act of enormous cruelty following an unsuccessful hunt, it is only a matter of time before the simmering tensions between the aristocracy and the workers explode.
A perennial Spanish classic, translated into twelve languages but never before into English, The Holy Innocents is a searing tale of human cruelty and alienation, in which resistance and liberation are not just necessary but possible.
"A ferocious story."-The Guardian
"[Delibes] is a master of compression, using the art of omission to convey a slow-burning sense of injustice. . . . Peter Bush's exemplary translation remains faithful to Delibes's Castilian original."-Tobias Grey, Financial Times
Named one of the 100 best Spanish-language novels of the 20th century (El Mundo) * Adapted into an award-winning film by Mario Camus
In the arid province of Extremadura in 1960s Spain, life on a country estate carries on as it has for centuries: wealthy landowners live in luxury while workers endure lives of poverty and humiliation. Amid this exploitation and injustice live Regula, an estate's gatekeeper, and her husband, Paco, the hunting attendant of the contemptuous Senorito Ivan. Regula's brother Azarias toils as a farmhand, but he prefers chasing tawny owls at night, training his pet jackdaw, and caring for his young niece, who is bedridden. When Paco is injured, the nature-loving Azarias is forced to take over as hunting attendant. But after Senorito Ivan commits an act of enormous cruelty following an unsuccessful hunt, it is only a matter of time before the simmering tensions between the aristocracy and the workers explode.
A perennial Spanish classic, translated into twelve languages but never before into English, The Holy Innocents is a searing tale of human cruelty and alienation, in which resistance and liberation are not just necessary but possible.
Reviews / Votes
"[Delibes] is a master of compression, using the art of omission to convey a slow-burning sense of injustice. . . . Peter Bush's exemplary translation remains faithful to Delibes's Castilian original."-Tobias Grey, Financial Times"Passion in ordinary lives, sobriety and melancholy are the flavors of Delibes's writing . . . with a profound empathy for nature and the poor. . . . The Holy Innocents [is] a ferocious story."-The Guardian
"Skillfully conveyed in Peter Bush's translation. Delibes's style is understated, though passion and rage seethe beneath the surface. . . . More than forty years after its first publication, The Holy Innocents still reads as a powerful indictment of dictatorship."-Michael Eaude, Times Literary Supplement
"A powerful tale of the essential struggle for human dignity, one that resonates with the regime changes of its author's time-as well as those of our own."-Asymptote
Praise for Miguel Delibes:
"Passion in ordinary lives, sobriety and melancholy are the flavors of Delibes's writing. . . with a profound empathy for nature and the poor. . . The Holy Innocents [is] a ferocious story."-The Guardian
"One of the great Spanish writers of the past century."-The Economist
"A prolific and much-honored Spanish novelist who explored human nature through the lives of common folk living in the rich Castilian countryside. . . . Delibes was often Spain's leading nominee for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Known for his humble nature, his empathy for the poor and a lifelong commitment to rural Spain and its traditions, . . . [in] The Holy Innocents, Mr. Delibes examined wealth and poverty in rural Spain."-New York Times
"Miguel Delibes [was] one of Spain's literary treasures."-Words Without Borders
"Delibes's hauntingly stark, gritty prose style captured the essence of Spain's rural and provincial life."-The Independent
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 202 mm
Width: 127 mm
Thickness: 37 mm
Weight
162 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-300-27513-1 (9780300275131)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Miguel Delibes (1920-2010) was one of Spain's most popular twentieth-century writers. He is the author of Five Hours with Mario and The Heretic, among other works. Peter Bush is an award-winning literary translator from Catalan, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. Colm Toibin is an award-winning novelist and critic.