This book offers an interpretation of a foreign conflict that has had a greater impact on modern British politics than any other.

Shelmerdine shows that traditional notions in Britain of Spain as a country of bullfighting, bandits and flamenco were pervasive, and were significant in shaping wider UK government policy towards Spain in the period of the civil war. He assesses political perceptions of the 1930s Spanish scene such as race and ethnicity.

The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) was reported by some of the most eminent journalists of the twentieth century and was the subject of reportage that still endures in public memory. However, these represent just a small fraction of the total news coverage of the war, raising the possibility that they provide a partial, even atypical, view of the international media's engagement with, and performance in, the conflict. This book provides the most extensive and detailed analysis of the reporting of the conflict ever undertaken, examining the personalities, routines, pressures and structures that shaped news coverage of the war in Britain as it unfolded. The book combines a comprehensive overview of the existing literature on the role of the news media in the conflict, with a vast amount of new evidence, gleaned from the author's detailed investigations in a range of official and media archives. Highlights include: Analysis of the strategies used by Republican and Nationalist forces to control and manage international press opinion Examination of journalists' personal experiences in Spain, and how these affected their political opinions and professional values Scrutiny of the pressures exerted by the British government on news correspondents, editors and proprietors as it sought to convince domestic and international opinion of the validity of its policy of international non-intervention in the war A systematic analysis of actual news coverage of the conflict, examining the extent to which media evaluations and interpretations of the conflict altered as events unfolded. Written in a highly accessible manner, this book will appeal to a wide readership, including students and academics working in the fields of politics, history and cultural, communication and media studies, as well as any other readers interested in the history and legacy of the Spanish Civil War.