Winter in Madrid [Unabridged] [Paperback]

`I loved it so much that when I got the last 20 pages I only let myself read a page a day because I didn't want it to end!! ...It's a bit of a thriller, but there's also a love story.'
--The Observer, The New Review - Twiggy

'a tense, literate page-turner, full of twists, authentic detail
and real pathos, a superb achievement'

'CJ Sansom's real strength lies in an almost uncanny ability to
create a sense of time and place...utterly fascinating'

'Romance, history and ideological conflict are seamlessly married
in this impressive period thriller'

'An evocative spy thriller.'

'Not since Robert Harris...have I come across a writer who captures the mood of an era so succinctly and graphically. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

'Highly recommended.' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

'atmospheric and impeccably researched' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

The haunting new stand-alone novel from the author of Dark Fire

1940: The Spanish Civil War is over, and Madrid lies ruined, its people starving, while the Germans continue their relentless march through Europe. Britain now stands alone while General Franco considers whether to abandon neutrality and enter the war. Into this uncertain world comes Harry Brett: a traumatised veteran of Dunkirk turned reluctant spy for the British Secret Service. Sent to gain the confidence of old schoolfriend Sandy Forsyth, now a shady Madrid businessman, Harry finds himself involved in a dangerous game – and surrounded by memories. Meanwhile Sandy’s girlfriend, ex-Red Cross nurse Barbara Clare, is engaged on a secret mission of her own – to find her former lover Bernie Piper, a passionate Communist in the International Brigades, who vanished on the bloody battlefields of the Jarama. In a vivid and haunting depiction of wartime Spain, Winter in Madrid is an intimate and compelling tale which offers a remarkable sense of history unfolding, and the profound impact of impossible choices. ‘Sansom adroitly draws the disparate strands of his ambitious saga together. His non-pareil evocations of time and place anchor his characters with satisfying precision’ Independent

C. J. Sansom was educated at Birmingham University, where he took a BA and then a Ph.D. in history. After working in a variety of jobs, he retrained as a solicitor and practised in Sussex, until becoming a full-time writer. He has written two novels in his historical crime series featuring lawyer, Matthew Shardlake. Winter in Madrid is his third novel. He lives in Sussex.