
Napoleon's Cursed War
Popular Resistance in the Spanish Peninsular War
Ronald Fraser(Author)
Verso Books (Publisher)
Published on 17. March 2008
Book
Hardback
587 pages
978-1-84467-082-6 (ISBN)
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Description
In this definitive account of the Peninsular War (1808-14), Napoleon's six-year war against Spain, Ronald Fraser examines what led to the emperor's devastating defeat against the popular opposition-the guerrillas-and their British and Portuguese allies. As well as relating the histories of the great political and military figures of the war, Fraser brings to life the anonymous masses-the artisans, peasants and women who fought, suffered and died-and restores their role in this barbaric war to its rightful place while overturning the view that this was a straightforward military campaign. This vivid, meticulously researched book offers a distinct and profound vision of "Napoleon's Vietnam" and shows the reality of the disasters of war: the suffering, discontents and social upheaval that accompanied the fighting.
Reviews / Votes
Fraser has re-created a world, barely glimpsed by previous historians, of the Spanish popular resistance and suffering during the anti-Napoleonic war ... An excellent work. -- Carlos Martinez Shaw * El Pais * Napoleon's Cursed War marks a fundamental milestone in the war's historiography, both past and future. It is a superb complement to Fraser's classic Blood of Spain, of 'history from below.' -- Ricardo Garcia Carcel * ABC * Fraser has breathed life into a historic era... The real protagonist of his work is the people and their tragedy. -- Luis Ribot * El Mundo * Like Goya in The Disasters of War, Fraser has engraved in the written word the spirit and sacrifices of the popular anti-Napoleonic resistance, a precursor of the anti-fascist resistance of the [Spanish] Civil War. -- Andreu Mayayo * El Periodico de Catalunya * This scholarly work investigates those who waged Spain's popular struggle between 1808 and 1814, and why. It's history from the ground up: momentous events lived by those whose voice is rarely heard...Fraser builds a mosaic from "shard-like" fragments, a labour of detection that would have swamped anyone with a less sure grip on the sweep of Spanish history. -- Elizabeth Nash * Independent *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Paper over boards
With dust jacket
Dimensions
Height: 244 mm
Width: 167 mm
Thickness: 45 mm
Weight
1021 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84467-082-6 (9781844670826)
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
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01/2023
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E-Book
10/2020
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Persons
Ronald Fraser (1930-2012) is the author of, among other works, Blood of Spain, a celebrated oral history of the Spanish Civil War.