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The Civil War in Spain, 1936-39: History in the Making
From letters, official reports, court proceedings, reporters' dispatches from the battlefronts, diaries and captured archives, Robert Payne--himself an eyewitness of those fateful years in Spain--has constructed a richly varied and detailed mosaic of the conflict which shook the world and ushered in World War II--Chicago Sun-Times.
Contributions by John Dos Passos, Arthur Koestler, Andre Malraux, George Orwell, Elliot Paul and others.
Contributions by John Dos Passos, Arthur Koestler, Andre Malraux, George Orwell, Elliot Paul and others.
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1962
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About the author
Robert Payne
339 books36 followersPierre Stephen Robert Payne was born December 4, 1911, in Saltash, County of Cornwall, England, the son of Stephen Payne, a naval architect, and Mireille Louise Antonia (Dorey) Payne, a native of France. Payne was the eldest of three brothers. His middle brother was Alan (Marcel Alan), and his youngest brother was Tony, who died at the age of seven.
Payne went to St. Paul's School, London. He attended the Diocesan College, Rondebosch, South Africa, 1929-30; the University of Capetown, 1928-1930; Liverpool University, 1933-35; the University of Munich, summer, 1937, and the Sorbonne, in Paris, 1938.
Payne first followed his father into shipbuilding, working as a shipwright's apprentice at Cammell, Laird's Shipbuilding Company, Birkendhead, 1931-33. He also worked for the Inland Revenue as an Assistant Inspector of Taxes in Guilford in 1936. In 1937-38 he traveled in Europe and, while in Munich, met Adolf Hitler through Rudolf Hess, an incident which Payne vividly describes in his book Eyewitness. In 1938 Payne covered the Civil War in Spain for the London News Chronicle, an experience that resulted in two books, A Young Man Looks at Europe and The Song of the Peasant.
From 1939 to 1941 Payne worked as a shipwright at the Singapore Naval Base and in 1941 he became an armament officer and chief camouflage officer for British Army Intelligence there. In December, 1941, he was sent to Chungking, China, to serve as Cultural Attaché at the British Embassy.
In January, 1942, he covered the battle of Changsha for the London Times, and from 1942 to 1943 he taught English literature at Fuhtan University, near Chungking. Then, persuaded by Joseph Needham, he went to Kunming and taught poetry and naval architecture at Lienta University from 1943 to 1946. The universities of Peking, Tsinghua, and Nankai had converged in Kunming to form the University at Lienta. It was there that Payne, together with Chinese scholars and poets, compiled and co-translated The White Pony.
In China Payne met General George C. Marshall, Chiang Kai-shek, and Mao Tse-tung, who was elusive and living in the caves of Yenan, all of whom later became subjects for his biographies. From his time in China also came the autobiographical volumes Forever China and China Awake, and the historical novels Love and Peace and The Lovers.
From China, Payne briefly visited India in the summer, 1946, which resulted in a love for Indian art. Throughout his life, Payne retained a love for all forms of oriental art.
He came to the United States in the winter of 1946 and lived in Los Angeles, California, until he became Professor of English and Author-in-Residence at Alabama College, Montevallo, 1949-54. He was the founding editor of Montevallo Review, whose contributors included poets Charles Olson and Muriel Rukeyser. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1953.
In Spring, 1949, Payne visited Persia with the Asia Institute Expedition. He received an M.A. degree from the Asia Institute in 1951.
In 1954 Payne moved to New York City, where he lived the rest of his life, interrupted once or twice a year by travel to the Middle East, the Far East, and Europe, mostly to gather material for his books, but also to visit his mother and father in England. His very close literary relationship with his father is documented in the hundreds of highly personal and informative letters which they exchanged.
In 1942, Payne married Rose Hsiung, daughter of Hsiung Hse-ling, a former prime minister of China. They divorced in 1952. In 1981, he married Sheila Lalwani, originally from India.
Over a period of forty-seven years Payne had more than 110 books published. He wrote his first novella, Adventures of Sylvia, Queen of Denmark and China, when he was seven years old. Payne's first publication was a translation of Iiuri Olesha's Envy, published by Virginia and Leonard Woolf's Hogarth Press in 1936. A year later, T.S. Eliot published his novel The War in the Marshes under
Payne went to St. Paul's School, London. He attended the Diocesan College, Rondebosch, South Africa, 1929-30; the University of Capetown, 1928-1930; Liverpool University, 1933-35; the University of Munich, summer, 1937, and the Sorbonne, in Paris, 1938.
Payne first followed his father into shipbuilding, working as a shipwright's apprentice at Cammell, Laird's Shipbuilding Company, Birkendhead, 1931-33. He also worked for the Inland Revenue as an Assistant Inspector of Taxes in Guilford in 1936. In 1937-38 he traveled in Europe and, while in Munich, met Adolf Hitler through Rudolf Hess, an incident which Payne vividly describes in his book Eyewitness. In 1938 Payne covered the Civil War in Spain for the London News Chronicle, an experience that resulted in two books, A Young Man Looks at Europe and The Song of the Peasant.
From 1939 to 1941 Payne worked as a shipwright at the Singapore Naval Base and in 1941 he became an armament officer and chief camouflage officer for British Army Intelligence there. In December, 1941, he was sent to Chungking, China, to serve as Cultural Attaché at the British Embassy.
In January, 1942, he covered the battle of Changsha for the London Times, and from 1942 to 1943 he taught English literature at Fuhtan University, near Chungking. Then, persuaded by Joseph Needham, he went to Kunming and taught poetry and naval architecture at Lienta University from 1943 to 1946. The universities of Peking, Tsinghua, and Nankai had converged in Kunming to form the University at Lienta. It was there that Payne, together with Chinese scholars and poets, compiled and co-translated The White Pony.
In China Payne met General George C. Marshall, Chiang Kai-shek, and Mao Tse-tung, who was elusive and living in the caves of Yenan, all of whom later became subjects for his biographies. From his time in China also came the autobiographical volumes Forever China and China Awake, and the historical novels Love and Peace and The Lovers.
From China, Payne briefly visited India in the summer, 1946, which resulted in a love for Indian art. Throughout his life, Payne retained a love for all forms of oriental art.
He came to the United States in the winter of 1946 and lived in Los Angeles, California, until he became Professor of English and Author-in-Residence at Alabama College, Montevallo, 1949-54. He was the founding editor of Montevallo Review, whose contributors included poets Charles Olson and Muriel Rukeyser. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1953.
In Spring, 1949, Payne visited Persia with the Asia Institute Expedition. He received an M.A. degree from the Asia Institute in 1951.
In 1954 Payne moved to New York City, where he lived the rest of his life, interrupted once or twice a year by travel to the Middle East, the Far East, and Europe, mostly to gather material for his books, but also to visit his mother and father in England. His very close literary relationship with his father is documented in the hundreds of highly personal and informative letters which they exchanged.
In 1942, Payne married Rose Hsiung, daughter of Hsiung Hse-ling, a former prime minister of China. They divorced in 1952. In 1981, he married Sheila Lalwani, originally from India.
Over a period of forty-seven years Payne had more than 110 books published. He wrote his first novella, Adventures of Sylvia, Queen of Denmark and China, when he was seven years old. Payne's first publication was a translation of Iiuri Olesha's Envy, published by Virginia and Leonard Woolf's Hogarth Press in 1936. A year later, T.S. Eliot published his novel The War in the Marshes under
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 29, 2025
Wow I take forever to read books now. But to my defense, it was a dense book and I thought it would’ve been a slower more in depth read from the start. I really did enjoy the book overall, it was written in the early 50s or around there I believe and it definitely feels that way, thought I say that’s good. More recency to the actual war. I wish the book covered the nationalist side a bit more but I guess with the limited availability of works from that side, it was a little harder to do that. Definitely biased to the Republican side, not that that’s terrible, but it was quite obvious. Thought I did enjoy it and I really like Robert Payne as an author, who also happened to be in Spain during that time too.
War is actually terrible, who would’ve guessed!? Joking. But yeah both sides weren’t exactly the best most noble fighters ever. I am glad the book opened my eyes a bit more about the war in general, from what I knew before I had a certain idea but after reading this a lot changed. I knew it was a fractured war with many groups on each side, but I didn’t picture it in the same way that it really was. The communists, anarchists, republicans, basque groups, Catalans, etc. on the “republican side” and the falangist, carlists, monarchists, basque groups as well, etc. on the nationalist side. My opinion on the war as a whole changed a little too, but I won’t divulge that here. Read the book and make opinions for yourself!
4/5
War is actually terrible, who would’ve guessed!? Joking. But yeah both sides weren’t exactly the best most noble fighters ever. I am glad the book opened my eyes a bit more about the war in general, from what I knew before I had a certain idea but after reading this a lot changed. I knew it was a fractured war with many groups on each side, but I didn’t picture it in the same way that it really was. The communists, anarchists, republicans, basque groups, Catalans, etc. on the “republican side” and the falangist, carlists, monarchists, basque groups as well, etc. on the nationalist side. My opinion on the war as a whole changed a little too, but I won’t divulge that here. Read the book and make opinions for yourself!
4/5
October 5, 2013
A collection of writers contributed to this book on the Spanish Civil War. The more I read about this, the more I realize that most know very little about it. It was not as simple as the Nazi vs the Soviet. Many more factions involved. I know of no other war where so many writers, poets, novelists and columnists actually fought, bought war planes and led a war except this one. Very peculiar war with so many deaths and so much destruction.
April 16, 2014
When reading about a conflict, I normally like a book, written by a good military historian, which analyzes the battles. This book does not do that, but I am glad I selected it as my first book about the Spanish Civil War. It consists of excerpts from first-hand accounts written by journalists and combatants, both Spanish and foreign volunteers. The excerpts give fascinating insights into what are probably the key events in this war. While it did not provide me with a full understanding of the conflict, I helped me understand the emotional impact of the war and of this time in history, probably like no other book could do. I can now use it as a pathfinder to seek out more readings about this shocking, brutal, savage war.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews