Madrid: A New Biography

About the Book

The miraculous story of Madrid—how a village became a great world city

For centuries Madrid was an insignificant settlement on the central Iberian plateau. Under its Muslim rulers the town was fortified and enlarged, but even after the Reconquista it remained secondary to nearby Toledo. But Madrid's fortunes dramatically shifted in the sixteenth century, becoming the centre of a vast global empire.

Luke Stegemann tells the surprising story of Madrid's flourishing, and its outsize influence across the world. From Cervantes and Quevedo to Velázquez and Goya, Spain's capital has been home to some of Europe's most influential artists and thinkers. It formed a vital link between Europe and the Americas and became a cauldron of political dissent—not least during the Spanish Civil War, when the city was on the frontline in the fight against fascism.

Stegemann places Madrid and its people in global context, showing how the city—fast overtaking Barcelona as a centre of international finance and cultural tourism—has become a melting pot at the heart of Europe and the wider Hispanic world.

About the Author :
Luke Stegemann is a writer and cultural historian, and an honorary Madrileño. He has written on art, politics, and history for a wide range of Spanish and Australian publications, and is the author of The Beautiful Obscure and Amnesia Road.

Review :
“The main chapters in Madrid’s history are told with spirit. . . . But it is Stegemann’s sallies down the lesser known alleys of its history that do most to fire the imagination.”—Isambard Wilkinson, Times (UK)

“[Stegemann’s] strength lies in the way he brings people to life, and Madrid teems not only with kings and their consorts but also with writers, artists, rebels and villains. . . . The book’s handling of Spain’s two greatest artists, Diego Velázquez and Francisco Goya, is masterly. . . . In Mr. Stegemann, [Madrid] now has an eloquent advocate worthy of its stature—as an exuberant, world-class city with few equals on any continent.”—Tunku Varadarajan, Wall Street Journal

“An impressive, century-spanning urban biography.”—The Economist

“A lively and fair-minded account of the beguiling Spanish city, one that avoids cliché and illuminates the often hidden callejones of la Villa y Corte.”—Benjamin Riley, New Criterion

“The pace and poetics are positively Joycean. . . . It is clear from Stegemann’s purposeful, passionate homage that he is as devoted a lover as they come.”—Abi Stephenson, Australian Book Review

“Entertaining and . . . characterized by its fusion of critical insight with cordiality.”—Luis Fernández-Galiano, Arquitectura Viva

“Stegemann’s passion for his adopted hometown is never in doubt as he expertly weaves an engaging tapestry packed with anecdote and the trials, tribulations and triumphs of prices and paupers reaching back to Madrid’s earliest days.”—Graham Ogilvy, Scottish Legal News

“A valuable and informative account.”—Medievalists.net

“A thorough yet truly readable book . . . revealing Stegemann’s gifts as an observer and a writer whose love for its subject is made evident on numerous occasions.”—Enrique García Santo-Tomás, Modern Language Review

“Not a conventional travel book nor a rigid historical account, but something more intimate and reflective—a narrative that treats the city as a character in its own story.”—Andrea Thompson, Travelling for Business

“Luke Stegemann has filled a yawning gap with the first comprehensive history in English of a great capital city which is at last attracting the international attention it deserves. He is an enjoyable and well-informed guide to Madrid.”—Michael Reid, author of Spain

“Luke Stegeman’s perceptive and knowledgeable portrait of Madrid provides an indispensable compendium of the historical, literary and artistic reasons why, despite its unbearable heat in summer and bitter cold in winter, it generates such universal affection.”—Paul Preston, author of The Last Days of the Spanish Republic

“There is nothing like this engaging and erudite hymn to Madrid, still one of Europe’s least explored cities. As a 40-year resident of the Spanish capital, I learned a lot.”—William Chislett, former Madrid correspondent of The Times

“A lively and engrossing rereading of Madrid's past which rightly rebuffs many of the tiresome tropes about a city that has been greatly overlooked and underappreciated.”—Nigel Townson, author of The Penguin Modern History of Spain

“A spirited chronicle of what is arguably the world’s most vibrant city. This is an essential guide to understanding Madrid’s history, from its Neolithic origins to the devastating three-year siege of the Civil War and the rebirth of democracy.”—Jules Stewart, author of Madrid: The History