Memories of a tragic history. (The Dark Swallows)

While living in Mallorca, my next door neighbour told me the story of her two brothers, and how their mother's life was forever blighted by their different fates. It deeply impressed me, and brought into being ’The Dark Swallows’, which I wrote while still mainly ignorant about the convoluted politics of that period. Since then, and inspired by my father-in-law’s memoirs, I have studied the subject in-depth, and as a result, wanted to both edit and develop the themes of the original story, particularly since at long last Spain is willing to reflect more openly, if not always more honestly, on its tragic past.

A friend of mine’s husband had fifteen members of his father’s family shot by anarchists. His mother survived by hiding in the countryside ….. So many true accounts from both sides of the conflict will never be told, but may be reflected through fiction, such as my own.