South from Granada

A British writer travels to Yegen, a remote village in southern Spain, in the 1920s. He rents a house there and integrates himself into the community, leading to a life long relationship with Spain.

What an incredible book. A time capsule piece really but, having been released in the 1950s, told with the added perspective of hindsight. In the 20s the village had no road going to it and no power - Brenan describes the way of life there as barely more than medieval. It feels like such an important document of a way of life that was soon to all but disappear.

He balances history, geography and human interest to paint a vivid picture of a place that is other-worldly even compared to nearby cities.

I’ve just been travelling through Andalusia myself, and it’s been fascinating seeing the little vestiges of what Brenan describes dotted over the countryside and in the architecture.

By some great coincidence, just as we were filling up the rental car one last time I noticed that the name of the street we were on - Calle Gerald Brenan.