A Woman Unknown: Voices from a Spanish Life

A hybrid of biography, memoir and travel essay, this is a portrait of life in the dazzling cornucopia of Spain. Graves is the only daughter of poet Robert Graves's first marriage. Born in Devon, England, in 1943, she was raised on the Spanish island of Majorca, and her memoir deals mainly with her experiences growing up in post-civil war Spain under Franco's regime. However dominating that rule was, her enchanting village escaped much of it, enveloping Lucia and her brothers in a safe haven marked by beautiful landscapes, rich folklore and a vibrant linguistic tradition. The book is loosely chronological, spanning her life and ties to Catalonia, the region of northeastern Spain near France and Andorra, whose principal city is Barcelona. Growing up there among the devoutly Catholic and unmistakably Spanish, she absorbed many of their beliefs and customs, although she herself was neither Catholic nor Spanish. She reveres the language of Catalan, attributing its energy and beauty to its speakers. After studies at the International School in Geneva and Oxford, she returned to Spain and started a family in the Barcelona area. Her status as a foreigner in a familiar land gives her a unique perspective on Spain's identityDone that is frequently caught between antiquated Franco-era customs, the repressed society it yielded and the modernization brought about by political change. Written in fluid, conversational prose, this memoir will draw and captivate both readers of memoirs and those who enjoyed Chris Stewart's Driving over Lemons. (Oct.)