'Four extraordinary women whose personal histories should dispel any illusions that the Spanish Civil War was an all-male war¿The book is full of wonderful stories and acute observations. But above all, these are compelling human dramas in which moral issues, right and wrong, Fascism and Communism melt away.' 'Sunday Telegraph'

The Aristocrat: PIP SCOTT-ELLIS fell in love with a Spanish prince and set off for Madrid in a chauffeur-driven limousine. She ended up nursing in front-line Francoist hospitals.

The Communist: NAN GREEN, by contrast, travelled to war third class. Leaving her children behind in England, she went to fight for the International Brigade.

The Intellectual: MARGARITA NELKEN was an art critic and novelist, who had translated Kafka into Spanish. Denounced as a whore by the Catholic Right, she became a radical politician.

The Fascist: After her husband was killed in the fighting and miscarrying on hearing the news, MERCEDES SANZ-BACHILLER set up a welfare organisation that was to change the face of Spain.

'Preston has harnessed biography to serve history by vividly telling the stories of four very different women whose lives were starkly altered by the conflict¿'Doves of War' is significant, tragic and remarkable.'
'Irish Times'

'Passionate and deeply moving¿when Preston writes about these women, you feel as if you are in their company.'
'Scotland on Sunday'

'A considerable achievement¿Newcomers to the Spanish conflict could hardly find a better place to start.'
'Sunday Times'

SIR PAUL PRESTON CBE is Professor of Contemporary Spanish History at the London School of Economics and was previously a lecturer at the University of Reading and Professor of Modern History at Queen Mary University London. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and holds the Marcel Proust Chair of the European Academy of Yuste. He has been awarded honorary doctorates by universities in Spain and the UK. In 2006, he was awarded the International Ramon Llull Prize by the Catalan Government and, in 2018, the Guernica Peace Prize. Among his many works are Franco: A Biography, Comrades, Doves of War: Four Women of Spain, Juan Carlos, The Spanish Civil War, The Spanish Holocaust, The Last Stalinist, The Last Days of the Spanish Republic and A People Betrayed. In Spain, he was appointed a Comendador de la Orden del Mérito Civil in 1986 and awarded, in 2007, the Gran Cruz de la Orden de Isabel la Católica. He lives in London.