'What Have You Done for Victory?'
A Cultural History of the Spanish Civil War
Jo Labanyi(Author)
Reaktion Books (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 1. October 2026
Book
Hardback
504 pages
978-1-83639-278-1 (ISBN)
Description
The Spanish Civil War (1936-9) inspired an extraordinary range of cultural production, from literature, theatre, cinema, journalism and radio to visual art, song, dance, memoir and comics. This book - the first comprehensive study of the war's cultural output - considers works by both Spanish and foreign supporters of the Republic and Franco's forces, with particular attention paid to women's contributions, to reveal a conflict more complex than conventional narratives suggest. The book highlights how culture became a weapon in the fight against fascism while reflecting the passions, anxieties and ideals of the era and since. By combining well-known and lesser-known works across all media, it offers a nuanced and accessible portrait of a global struggle that continues to shape our understanding of political and cultural engagement.
Reviews / Votes
"This book is a tour de force: based on exhaustive, rigorous research, it is a highly readable, ambitious, and thought-provoking cultural history of the Spanish war, including its lead-up, international dimensions, and long-term consequences in both Spain and elsewhere." - Sebastiaan Faber, Professor of Hispanic Studies at Oberlin College and author of Memory Battles of the Spanish Civil War"'What Have You Done for Victory?' is excellent, rigorous and well-written. This admirably wide-ranging and detailed cultural history of the Spanish Civil War will open doors to a wide area of new cultural research." - Alison Ribeiro de Menezes, Professor of Hispanic Studies at the University of Warwick and author of Embodying Memory in Contemporary Spain
"Wide-ranging and richly documented, Jo Labanyi's 'What Have You Done for Victory?' shows how the clash over cultural meanings was central in a war that was not only Spain's but also a pivotal battle in larger wars of social change across twentieth-century Europe and the world." - Helen Graham, Professor Emerita of Modern European History, Royal Holloway, University of London, and author of The Spanish Civil War: A Very Short Introduction
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
130 illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Weight
454 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-83639-278-1 (9781836392781)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Jo Labanyi is Professor Emerita of Spanish at New York University. Her recent books include A Companion to Spanish Cinema (2013), Engaging the Emotions in Spanish Culture and History (2016) and Modern Literatures in Spain (2022).