Why a Booktrail?
1952: General Franco’s fascist government is at the height of its oppressive powers
The Whispering City
What you need to know before your trail
Mariona Sobrerroca, a wealthy socialiste, is found dead in her mansion in the exclusive Tibidabo area of Barcelona. The police simmediately scrable a large investigation but they have trouble taking control of events. Ana Martí Noguer, an eager young journalist, is surprised to be assigned this important story, shadowing Inspector Isidro Castro.
Ana soon realises that a bundle of strange letters unearthed at the scene point to a very different picture to what is being touted as the official version of events. So, she asks her friend Beatriz, they start an investigation of their own. What begins as an intriguing puzzle opens up a series of revelations that implicate the regime’s most influential figures.
The two women it would seem, have placed themselves in mortal danger.
Travel Guide
Barcelona during the 1950s
The city architecture may not have changed as you wander around the city, but the landscape of pain and war luckily has. Still, in the shadows and down the small alleyways, you can see ghostly pictures of the past and whispers of a time not long past.
Spain at this time was under the dictatorship of General Franco. The country was in turmoil yet to outsiders, the image is one of stability and low crime. The wealthy area of Tibidabo is not the place you would expect a murder to take place and one here could embarrass the regime…
Life in Barcelona is difficult:
“The new government named by Franco had produced seismic shifts in the Regime and it remained to be seen how far the shock waves would reach.”
“This damn city needs an iron hand. A hand that inspires”
Wander around its streets, there are many mentioned in the novel and areas of the city pivotal to the story. So vivid and evocative, you can almost hear the footprints of history behind you.
Booktrail Boarding Pass Information: The Whispering City
Author/Guide: Sara Moliner Destination: Barcelona Departure Time: 1950s
Back to ResultsWhere Next?
