Here are some of the 8 best books about Spain to read before traveling to that beautiful country!
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8 Best Books About Spain
The Iberian Peninsula is universally loved by travelers for its stunning coastline, delicious wines, and leisurely lifestyle. But it’s also with a nation with a rich history and complicated political reality. From the years of Dictator Franco, which are still rarely talked about, to the tensions between Catalonia, the Basque region, and the rest of Spain, there is far more to this sunny nation than good cheese and flamenco dancing.
Because of that, there is no shortage of inspiration for books about Spain. So I asked some fellow travel bloggers for their recommendations. Before traveling to Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, or any of its other phenomenal destinations, here are some of the best books about Spain that you should check out.
Table of Contents
Fiction
Homeland
Patria (Homeland) by Fernando Aramburu is one of Spain’s most celebrated modern novels. Set in the Basque Country, it tells the story of two families whose lives are torn apart by decades of violence connected to ETA, the Basque separatist group. What makes the book so powerful is that it isn’t just about politics – it’s about how those tensions creep into daily life, breaking friendships, dividing neighbors, and reshaping entire communities.
For travelers, the Basque Country is often all about pintxos, wine, and beautiful coastal towns, but Patria shows another side of the region. Reading it before your trip helps you understand why identity and history are so deeply felt here, and it gives new meaning to strolling through Bilbao, San Sebastian, or a quiet Basque village.
The book was such a success in Spain that it was adapted into an HBO series in 202, making the story even more accessible if you’d like to see it brought to life on screen. Whether you read or watch it, Patria is a moving introduction to one of Spain’s most fascinating regions, making it a necessary inclusion on any list of books about Spain.
Recommended by: Vega from Her Asian Adventures
The Familiar
Prepare to get inspired to travel to Old World Spain! The Familiar by Leign Bardugo is a fantasy fiction book that takes place in Madrid, Spain in the 16th century. It’s a great way to prepare yourself to walk the cobbled lanes of Spain.
The novel follows Luzia, a scullery maid who has inherited magical powers. When her employers discover her “talents,” they force her into a magical showdown. If she comes out on top, the competition gives her the opportunity to create a better life for herself, but in the age of the Spanish Inquisition, it’s risky.
If the nobles and judges, sent by the church, deem her magic to be witchcraft, rather than a miracle, she could be burned as a witch. In reality, she’s just a pawn in an often-deadly game of politics. The competition organizer is a disgraced royal advisor who is seeking to restore his favor with the king. Luzia’s sponsor is an evil man who bring in a “familiar,” an immortal man bound by dark forces, to help her hone her untrained gifts. Not only does he guide her to improve her abilities and help her achieve bigger and more impressive “tricks,” he also makes her pulse race.
If you’re looking for a spellbinding immersion into medieval Madrid, add this to your list of books about Spain to read.
Recommended by: Angie from The Travel Bug Life
The Time in Between
El Tiempo Entre Costuras, or The Time in Between, by Spanish author Maria Dueñas, is a historical novel set during the turbulent years of the Spanish Civil War and World War II.
The story follows Sira Quiroga, a young seamstress from a humble Madrid neighborhood who lives alone with her mother. At first, her future seems stable when she falls in love with a promising young government worker.
But everything changes when Sira falls head over heels for a charismatice yet untrustworthy man. She follows him to Morocco to start a new life, but he abandons her and leaves her burdened with his debts.
Ruined and unable to return to Spain due to the outbreak of the Civil War, Sire is forced to rebuild her life in Morocco. Thanks to her remarkable sewing skills, she reinvents herself as a successful dressmaker for high-society women in Tetouan. Her new position introduces her to powerful figures, and soon Sira is drawn into espionage for the British secret service. Back in Madrid, she uses her fashion business as a cover to pass along crucial information during World War II.
The Time in Between is one of the best books about Spain to read before your next trip. Not only does the novel tell the captivating story of a young woman’s resilience and survival but also offers a fascinating glimpse into Spanish and Moroccan society during the transformative 1930s and 40s.
Recommended by: Rebecca from Becci Abroad
Non-Fiction
A Brief History of the Spanish Language
There are so many reasons to visit and love Spain. Its history, its weather, its natural environment, its architecture, culture, food, and art. The list goes on (did I mention food?). But for me, one of Spain’s most enduring appeals is its language – a beautiful kaleidoscope of words shaped by centuries of change.
Spanish is rooted in Latin, like many European tongues, but it also absorbed a wealth of vocabulary from Arabic during the centuries of Muslim rule. Add in the influences of regional kingdoms, shifting borders, and successive civilizations, and the story of the Spanish language shines a light on the story of Spain itself.
For travelers curious about language, A Brief History of the Spanish Language by David A. Pharies is the perfect companion. Accessible yet authoritative, it’s the best introduction to how Spanish evolved – and a fascinating lens through which to understand the language and the country as you explore it. It’s a book about the Spanish language, yes, but is also one of the most insightful non-fiction books about Spain.
Recommended by: Jamie of What’s Down the Street
Driving Over Lemons
Chris Stewart, drummer and founding member of Genesis, was traveling through the Alpujarra Mountains in Andalusia with his wife when they came across a dilapidated sheep farm called El Valero. It had no running water, no electricity, and no proper road. Every sensible person they spoke to warned them to stay away. Yet they fell in love with the lemon groves, the breathtaking views, and the old goats chomping their way through the property. Against all advice, they bought the land and left their rock-and-roll life in England behind to become farmers in middle-of-nowhere Spain.
Driving over Lemons is Stewart’s three-part memoir of the adventures that followed at El Valero. It’s a funny, moving romp through rural Spain, filled with eccentric characters like Pedro Romero, the farm’s previous owner, who refuses to leave.
Slowly but surely, Stewart and his wife put down roots in this strange land. These books about Spain will have you wanting to do the same, even if it’s only for a few days’ vacation in the Andalusian countryside.
Recommended by: Eloise from Shortcuts and Sidequests
Catalonia Movie Walks
The book Catalonia Movie Walks by Eugeni Osácar is such a treasure when it comes to discovering hidden spots in Spain.
Instead of repeating the must-see places you find in most travel blogs or guidebooks, this one focuses on movie locations, both from famous films and more obscure ones (Romasanta, An Angel at My Table, Pot Luck, and Red Lights to name a few). Yet every place featured in this book is scenic enough to have caught a filmmaker’s eye.
The book offers much more than a simple list though. It dives deep into both production and location info and even gives you full itineraries that let you walk in the footsteps of stars like Julianne Moore, Javier Bardem, Scarlett Johansson, Matthew McConaughey, Elsa Pataky, and many more.
As a cinephile, I always flip through this guide when I plan a trip to the region. It never fails to show me places I wouldn’t have found otherwise, making it one of my favorite travel books about Spain.
Recommended by: Vanessa from Traveling Cats and The Cat Movie Archive
Ghosts of Spain
Nearly 60 years after the end of the Spanish Civil War, the mass graves of Francisco Franco’s death squads were finally uncovered. This discovery broke the Spaniards called “the pact of forgetting,” the cultural understanding that some things are simply not talked about or explored. Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through Spain and Its Silent Past, by Giles Tremlett, is part travelogue, part exploration of forgotten memory. Tremlett guides us through Spain’s transition from Franco’s dictatorship to democracy. Readers embark on a journey of discovery with him, visiting mass graves and speaking with locals, young and old, about what was forgotten, what still hurts, and the silences behind official histories.
He dives into laws on “historical memory,” regional tensions (such as in Basque and Catalonia), debates over monuments, education, and collective forgetting. Tremlett places you in the moment: during a grave exhumation, in a rural town silenced by memory, or at the center of controversy over a statue removal.
For those looking to get a deeper understanding of the country, reading Ghosts of Spain will help you do that. It will help you to travel more respectfully and travel slowly in Spain. Before visiting any big cities or small villages, you’ll know what questions to ask or what wounds are still open. This makes it one of the best books about Spain for learning about how the past still impacts the present.
Recommended by: Ulysse of SlowSight Soul
Homage to Catalonia
While George Orwell is most famous for his novels Animal Farm and 1984, Homage to Catalonia is one of his non-fiction books that is an essential read if you want to know more about Spain’s history during the civil war almost a century ago.
Orwell’s first hand account from the frontlines are raw and thought-provoking. While he, an Englishman, volunteered to help the Spanish out of a sense of justice and moral conviction, his experience on the ground led him to become disillusioned with Spain’s political reality and the promises of the Marxist party that he was fighting for.
Orwell traveled to sevearl different regions of the country during his time in Spain, but some of the most prominent moments of the book took place in Barcelona’s city Center, the Ramblas, a place that you should visit if you are a history buff and would like to imagine how the now tourist-filled streets were once an open conflict zone.
If you’re traveling to Barcelona and want to understand the political situation during the Spanish Civil War and the decades since, this is one of the best books about Spain for you to read.
Recommended by: Juan from Planet of Adventures
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Great post. I am an avid reader and will check out some of these!
Driving with Lemons sounds like a great story. Saving this for our next trip to Spain.
What a great article! I can’t wait to read some of these books! Thank you for a great read!
I always try to read books about the countries where I visit. I am planning a trip to Spain soon so I will definitely check out these books from my library. Keep doing these travel book collabs Maggie!
I love reading about places I visit! Thanks for the great suggestions to add to my to read list.
I need to check out some of these. I love reading books that gives some history of places around the world I have traveled to or plan to travel to
what a great post and a great idea to post! I’m definitely going to check some of these out.
Great list of books, I saved a few for my reading list, especially the history of the language as I’m trying to learn Spanish, so it would be a good read I think.
Hello! The list is very interesting. I also like For whom the bell tolls by Ernest Hemingway. He described picturesque Segovia surrounds in his novel.
Thank you for sharing this stellar list of books about Spain — I especially appreciate how you included a mix of fiction, history and travel memoirs making it perfect pre-trip reading.
The tale of Driving with Lemons seems fantastic. Keeping this for our next journey to Spain!