Gerald Brenan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gerald Brenan
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| Born |
Edward FitzGerald Brenan
7 April 1894 Sliema, British Malta
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| Died | 19 January 1987 (aged 92) Alhaurin el Grande, Spain
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| Occupation | Author, historian |
Edward FitzGerald "Gerald" Brenan (born April 7, 1894 – died January 19, 1987) was a British writer and historian. He was known for his deep knowledge of Spain, where he lived for much of his life. He received the CBE award in 1982 for his work.
Brenan is famous for books like The Spanish Labyrinth, which explains the history leading up to the Spanish Civil War. Another well-known book is South from Granada: Seven Years in an Andalusian Village, which shares his personal experiences.
Gerald Brenan's Life Story
Brenan was born in Malta. His family was well-off and from both English and Irish backgrounds. His father was serving in the British Army there. Gerald went to Radley College, a boarding school in England, but he did not like it because he was bullied.
He did not have a good relationship with his father, Major Hugh Brenan. When Gerald was 18, his father wanted him to join the army. To go against his father's wishes, Gerald decided to walk to China with a friend named John Hope-Johnstone.
Adventures and War Service
Between August 1912 and January 1913, they walked about 1,560 miles. They reached Bosnia before they ran out of money and had to turn back. Brenan then spent ten months in Germany learning the language. He planned to join the Indian Police Service, but this was stopped when World War I began in August 1914.
He immediately joined the British Army. He served in France throughout the entire war. After the war ended in 1919, his friend Hope-Johnstone introduced him to a group of famous writers and artists called the Bloomsbury Group.
Life in Spain
In 1919, Brenan moved to Spain. From 1920 onwards, he rented a house in a small village called Yegen. This village is in the Alpujarras area of Granada. He spent his time studying and writing. He felt he had missed out on a university education, so he taught himself. Moving to Spain also made sense because his small income would go further there.
In 1930, he met an American poet named Gamel Woolsey (1895–1968) in England. They got married in Rome in 1931. They lived in Churriana, a village near Málaga, during the early part of the Spanish Civil War. They even helped a person who had different political views, keeping them safe.
Brenan and Woolsey stayed in Spain until Italian forces, supporting the fascist rebels, took over the city. Their experiences during this time are written about in books by others. The couple then returned to England and lived there for many years.
Brenan was allowed to return to Spain in 1949. This was even though he had views that were critical of Francisco Franco's government. Gamel Woolsey passed away in Spain in 1968 from cancer. She is buried at the English Cemetery, Málaga. Brenan lived most of the rest of his life in Spain, first near Malaga and later in Alhaurín el Grande.
In 1984, Brenan was moved to a nursing home in England. There was some discussion about whether he wanted to live in England. He returned to Spain after the Spanish authorities made special plans for his care. When he died, his body was given for medical research. Later, his ashes were buried in the English Cemetery, Malaga. His books A Life of One's Own and A Personal Record tell his life story.
Gerald Brenan's Books
Gerald Brenan wrote many books, including novels, history books, and autobiographies. Here are some of his important works:
- Jack Robinson. A Picaresque Novel (1933) – published under the name George Beaton
- Shanahan's Old Shebeen, or The Mornin's Mornin' (1940)
- The Spanish Labyrinth: An Account of the Social and Political Background of the Civil War (1943) – a key historical work
- The Face of Spain (1950)
- The Literature of the Spanish People – From Roman Times to the Present Day (1951)
- South From Granada: Seven Years in an Andalusian Village (1957) – a popular autobiographical book
- A Holiday by the Sea (1961)
- A Life of One's Own: Childhood and Youth (1962) – part of his autobiography
- A Personal Record, 1920–1972 (1975) – another part of his autobiography
- Thoughts in a Dry Season: A Miscellany (1978)
He also left an unfinished work about Spanish poetry, which was published after he passed away.
