Letters From Barcelona : An American Woman in Revolution and Civil War

Through the eyes of a young American female radical socialist, living and working in Barcelona during the Catalan Revolution and the Spanish Civil War, the dreams, the nightmares and the realities of European politics in the age of dictatorship are fully brought to life. An autobiographical commentary written on the eve of World War Two. Letters from Barcelona provides a unique insight into the mentality and actions of an entire generation of socialist activists caught up in the maelstrom of cataclysmic events in interwar Europe. Based on carefully chosen representative selections from the copious letters sent by the young protagonist to family and friends in the United States, the atmosphere described in these letters vividly recreates the challenges, the hopes and the disappointments associated with living in Barcelona in the first year of the Catalan Revolution and the Spanish Civil War. These letters reconstruct the vibrant atmosphere of the campaign for a self-managed socialist society, stymied and ultimately crushed by the twin challenges of fascist and Stalinist dictatorships. The primary documents are placed into a larger context by the editor's introductory remarks on the nature of the Catalan Revolution and the place of Lois Orr2s writings in the emerging literature on women's autobiographies Front Matter....Pages i-xiv The Catalan Revolution....Pages 1-18 Women’s Autobiographies: History and Meaning....Pages 19-30 The Language of Symbols and the Barriers of Language: Foreigners’ Perceptions of Social Revolution (Barcelona 1936–1937)....Pages 31-66 Letters from Barcelona (Autumn)....Pages 67-112 Letters from Barcelona (Winter)....Pages 113-146 Letters from Barcelona (Spring)....Pages 147-175 Reminiscences by Charles Orr....Pages 176-182 In Stalin’s Secret Barcelona Jail....Pages 183-201 (Auto-)Biographical Notes by Lois Orr....Pages 202-207 Back Matter....Pages 208-209