I have so much respect for Eland for finding this novel and for publishing it.  It has spent most of it's life hidden away and barely read by anybody, which is such a shame as this is such a wonderful little book, Gamel's prose is so moving at times, she shows a side of war that tends to get ignored.

Gamel and her husband Gerald are living just outside Malaga in the 1930's when the Spanish civil war kicks off.  There have been rumours that the Spanish workers aren't happy and that things could go wrong soon, but their Englishness can't see it affecting them.  Soon Malaga is burning and most of the English residents are running away.  Gamel decides to stay, partly because she romanticises war and partly because they have a big house and with them still there it could be put to use to help the Spaniards. 

Gamel then witnesses some horrific scenes, she sees the evil of war start to appear in the eyes people she knew to be sensible, the suspicion eating at the villagers and it makes them do shameful things.  Gamel and Gerald do what they can, sheltering terrified locals as planes drop bombs every night, fighting to save the innocents who have been taken to prison only to be murdered in revenge after the next airstrike.  At one point they take in a family and hide them from the murder gangs in a priest hole, putting themselves at great risk.  As the book goes on you can see the strain of the conflict, it is no longer a romantic thing and the chapter on Juan was heart-breaking to read, her love for the people of Spain really shows at this point.  You can see that she was most definitely suffering from PTSD but this still doesn't stop her love.

Eland have released some very good books that I've been lucky enough to read and this one has to be my favourite.  Wonderful writing, I only wish her writing had been more successful so that she would have written more.

Blog review: felcherman.wordpress.com/2020/05/25/deaths-other-kingdom-by-gamel-woolsey/