LOVE AND THE SPANISH. by Epton, Nina - 1961

London: Cassell, 1961. 216 pp, 8 3/4" H. B&w illustrations. "Spain is a country of Magdalenes and repentant Don Juans as well as of gay sinners. This sums up concisely and colourfully - as far as love can ever be summed up - what must be considered as the Spanish attitude to love both in the past and indeed at the present time, for it has changed remarkably little over the centuries, and only now has enlightened thought to some extent begun to free love from strangling conventions and taboos. This country has produced Don Juan the greatest lover of all time, one of the most passionate and violent of all love stories in 'Carmen', the Inquisition with its scenes of extreme punishment and tortured flesh, the charming court-ship rites like the Fiesta de San Antonio, and the tragic genius of Lorca, preoccupied with beauty and death. How is it possible to reconcile the passionate guitar-playing majo with the cold, unyielding figure of the Inquisitor? Miss Epton gives us the answer - no easy achievement, for the Spaniards have never been inclined to communicate personal feelings about love either in their art or in their literature, and this reticence and pride still persists. She has met every type of Spaniard, from intellectuals to prostitutes, from students to doctors, and she has questioned them tactfully but ruthlessly. As a result, she has laid bare the myth of Romantic Spain, revealing the fundamental difference between Galicia, more tolerant of human weakness, and the severer South, which is one of the most striking character-istics of love in Spain." Light fading to top/bottom edges of spine. Dust jacket has some very light edge wrinkling, light browning on spine and very light on flap-folds, very light soiling on rear panel.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Very Good-. Illus. by B.S. Biro, dust jacket illustration..