Los libros proscritos

In 1868, the reign of Isabella II faced a new crisis that could no longer be resolved by a mere change of government. In major cities, discontent over abuses and corruption paved the way for a change of regime. The revolution known as "La Gloriosa" would ultimately triumph, yet political and economic difficulties prevented the maintenance of the cohesion essential to sustaining this new democratic experiment. During the autumn uprisings of 1869, Valencia was the scene of an insurrection that General Primo de Rivera crushed with fire and bloodshed—at the cost of nearly a thousand lives—after nine days of fierce fighting. Against this backdrop, a young Frenchman named Marc Marteau travels between Madrid and Valencia in search of his father—a Spanish revolutionary who had met Marc’s mother near Bordeaux and returned to his homeland before his son was born. Marc finds himself caught up in the whirlwind of Spanish politics, rife with intrigue and conspiracy, while uncovering strange family secrets and the existence of a clandestine brotherhood that battles the forces of obscurantism and intolerance by rescuing and disseminating banned books.