BOADILLA

First edition, first printing of a cornerstone text for historians of the Spanish Civil War. Publisher's original grey cloth with red titles to the spine, in the Abbey illustrated dustwrapper. A very good or better copy, the binding firm and the cloth bright and fresh, the spine gently rolled. The contents, lightly spotted to the prelims and closed text block edge, are otherwise clean throughout and without inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the lightly rubbed and nicked dustwrapper that remains without loss, with some toning to the rear panel and flap edges, and minor fading to the spine. Not price-clipped (7s 6d net to the lower front flap).

Esmond Romilly (10 June 1918 – 30 November 1941) was a British socialist, anti-fascist, and journalist, who as a teenage runaway from Wellington College was among the first British volunteers to join the International Brigades in Spain (cycling across France to fight on the side of the democratically elected Spanish Republic against Franco's insurrection). He saw intensive front line action in defence of Madrid, culminating in the battle of Boadilla del Monte in December 1936. After falling ill in January 1937, the nineteen year old nephew of Clementine Churchill returned to England and whilst convalescing at the home of his distant cousin Dorothy Allhusen he met Jessica Mitford. Second youngest of seven, Jessica was burdened with two Fascists for older sisters. Diana and Unity were both friends of Hitler, and the former married Oswald Mosley. Jessica, on the other hand, was a Communist – much to the chagrin of her wealthy family. She and Esmond quickly fell in love and eloped to Bayonne on the French-Spanish border, where they were married. The couple hoped to return to Spain to report on the war but were thwarted by their failure to obtain a visa. During their honeymoon, Esmond worked on his eyewitness account of fighting with the English brigades, securing a publisher's advance of £50 and resulting in the Autumn 1937 publication of 'Boadilla'. Initial sales were poor which might go some way to explaining why first editions are rare in commerce. It served as a primary historical source for many leading scholars writing about the Spanish Civil War, including Paul Preston, Hugh Thomas and Anthony Beevor.