Footprints in Spain
by Simon Courtauld, Quartet, £20
Ever since Henry VIII cast off Catherine of Aragon, we have had an uneasy relationship with Spain. This is, of course, partly because of the Armada, and the fervent piety and bloodlust that bubble away under the Spanish sun.
Simon Courtauld begins this charming and perceptive guide at Huevla, where the Rio Tinto company started copper mining a century ago, building a club and a Protestant church. Walking up the grassy slope to the walls of Badajoz, he is conscious of the lingering resentment against the Duke of Wellington for failing to prevent his troops from slaughtering the inhabitants in 1811.
