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El Generalísimo

Franco: Power, Violence and the Quest for Greatness

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El Generalísimo

By: Giles Tremlett
Narrated by: Luis Soto
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About this listen

 Bloomsbury presents El Generali´simo by Giles Tremlett , read by Luis Soto.

'Making Francisco Franco’s long life and 38 years of dictatorship enjoyable reading is a daunting challenge ... Giles Tremlett nonetheless succeeds magnificently' PAUL PRESTON

'A magisterial, ground-breaking new portrait ... Sets a gold standard in Spanish Civil War history' ELISABETH DRAYSON

From a scrawny, overlooked military graduate to the youngest general in Europe, Francisco Franco was known for his ambition, talent and calculated risk-taking. Yet his reputation remains a topic of fierce debate. Did he destroy Spain and stifle its democracy or rescue the nation from left-wing tumult? In this compelling biography, Giles Tremlett unravels the complex life and legacy of the enigmatic dictator who shaped twentieth-century Spanish history.

This book will delve into the complexities of Franco's character, exploring his volatile relationship with a domineering father, his traumatic experiences fighting in Morocco and the formation of his authoritarian ideology. The narrative follows Franco's ruthless leadership during the Civil War, his alignment with Hitler and Mussolini and the subsequent Cold War era that brought him international rehabilitation. Tremlett interrogates Franco's transformation of Spain through a lens that challenges the conventional view of him as a bumbling leader. Instead, he argues that Franco was a deliberate and pragmatic dictator who wielded terror to maintain an iron grip on power, and whose lasting (and most surprising) contribution was the period of peace that allowed Spain to challenge the absolutist spirit he embodied.

Nuanced and comprehensive, El Generalísimo offers a fresh perspective that reveals the intricate interplay of ambition and fearlessness of Francisco Franco; and examines his enduring legacy that continues to shape Spain's political and cultural landscape.©2025 Giles Tremlett (P)2025 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Europe Military Military & War Spain World War II War Civil War Imperialism Latin American Socialism Africa Interwar Period

Critic reviews

Giles Tremlett gives a rounded portrait of Francisco Franco, whose rise to power was extraordinary by any standards—from the youngest general in Europe since Napoleon, at the age of 33, to victor of the Spanish Civil War, and then dictator for 36 years. Tremlett’s vivid book makes judicious use of reports, memoirs, and newspapers of the time for an engaging and penetrating biography (William Chislett, author of SPAIN: WHAT EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW)
Given the new world disorder, the resurgence of autocrats in so many places; the crisis and fragility of democracy… it’s good to have a new [biography of Franco]. In El Generalísimo, Giles Tremlett delivers an excellent biography – compelling, authoritative, even entertaining – of this highly dislikable creature (Simon Sebag Montefiore)
All stars
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A rich biography of Franco, his times and events. The book is very complete until the end of the Civil War, then becoming a bit more quick paced. A very good account of Franco's life and achievements without much bias and very complete. The best chapters relate to the military carreer of Franco and the happenings of the Africanistas.

A rich biography

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I’ve just finished listening to El Generalísimo by Giles Tremlett on Audible, and it’s a fascinating, absorbing and often unsettling account of the life, rise and decades-long rule of Francisco Franco, El Caudillo. I came to this knowing almost nothing about Franco, but I was drawn to it because of its deep exploration of the Spanish Civil War, a conflict that has long interested me. Orwell and W. H. Auden fought in it, Hemingway championed the republican cause, and yet many of us still know surprisingly little about the man who ultimately shaped Spain for nearly forty years.

One of the most striking observations Tremlett makes is that Franco possessed "no charisma, no intellectual spark, and no clear ideological conviction." And yet this was the man who ruled from 1939 until his death in 1975 — through World War II, through dictatorship, through vast social and cultural change. Even today, his legacy remains deeply divided: older Spaniards often look on him with a kind of wary respect, while younger generations seem ambivalent, unsure whether he is a figure of history or a shadow still cast across the present.

As a book, it is meticulously researched. It starts slowly, but once Franco enters the military, the pace picks up dramatically. The chapters on the Civil War and its aftermath are incredibly compelling, and Tremlett’s examination of how Franco retained power — through political manoeuvring, ideological flexibility and sheer endurance — is gripping.

The Audible experience adds something extra. Luis Soto’s narration is outstanding — calm, clear, compassionate and authoritative. He captures the tone of a historian without ever becoming dry, and his ability to move between perspectives and emotional registers keeps the narrative fully engaging. It’s one of those narrations that elevates the material and holds your attention even through dense political detail. And of course his Spanish pronunciation is exemplary as you would expect.

One story that stayed with me is Franco’s promise to Hitler: Spain would join the Axis — but only if Franco was guaranteed Gibraltar after victory. It’s the kind of historical detail that illuminates Franco’s opportunism and the strange, uneasy diplomatic games of the era.

If you’re curious about the man, the myth and the turbulent decades he dominated, El Generalísimo is absolutely worth your time. It doesn’t try to rehabilitate Franco, nor does it simply condemn him — instead, it allows you to form your own understanding of a figure who remains central to Spain’s modern history.

Four stars from me — a meticulous account of how an unremarkable man left an extraordinary, and still divisive, mark on Spain, brought vividly to life by Luis Soto’s excellent narration.

Understanding Franco’s Spain

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