The book starts with a list of the Men and Women of Santa Eulalia. The story is then presented in two parts. The first is titled 4000 BC to 1936 AD,[1] with the second part called July 14 to September 15, 1936.[1] There is also a postscript by Paul, dated 14 June 1937.
Synopsis
The book is set in and around the small town of Santa Eulària des Riu, on Ibiza, where Paul had lived since 1931.[3]
The first part of the book describes the town and many of the characters who live and work there. He details their family lives, their hopes, their aspirations, and their politics. He provides details of the people at work and at play and describes how he becomes part of the community of the town.
Paul also writes of other expatriates who have made their homes in and around the town.
The second part of the book starts with Paul and his family returning to Ibiza after some time away. The narrative is set in 1936[1] in the week leading up to the outbreak of hostilities on Ibiza during the Spanish Civil War[1] and describes the events that eventually lead to Paul, his family and other refugees from the violence, fleeing the island. It tells the story of civil disobedience, collaboration, and the violence that split a once-happy community, but the narrative finishes before the tragic turn of events reaches its conclusion.
The postscript, written by Paul, dated 14 June 1937, details events following his departure from Ibiza and describes his hopes and fears for his friends on the island and a way of life that he thought would change forever.
Contents
The Characters
The Fishermen and their Families
Captain Juan
Mateo Rosa, His Wife Paja, their daughter Maria
Edmundo, Mateo’s brother
Toniet Pardal, his wife and children
Hotel and Café keepers
Cosmi, his wife Anna
Antonio the cook, Cosmi’s brother
Catalina, servant in Cosmi’s hotel
Juanito, young proprietor of the Royalty
Pedro, the waiter at the Royalty
Xumeu Ribas, proprietor of Can Xumeu and custodian of the public telephone, his wife and daughter
Francisco Ribas, Xumeu’s son
Antonia, proprietress of the fisherman’s bar
Julia her daughter
Andres, of Can Andres
Storekeepers
Old Jaun, of the Casa Rosita, his on Mariano, his daughter-in-law Vicenta
Toni Ferrer, of Las Delicias
Miguel Tur, of the Casa Miguel
Guarapiñada, of Tot Barat
Mousson, the butcher, his daughter Catalina, his blind aunt
^ abcdeThe Life and Death of a Spanish Town: Author: Elliot Paul
Publisher: London : Peter Davis; Publisher United States; Random House, New York; 1st Edition (1937)
ASIN B002DQL7GK
^The Life and Death of a Spanish Town: Author: Elliot Paul
Publisher: Greenwood Press (1971)
ISBN9780837156286
^ abArnold Goldman. "The Town That Did Not Die", Journal of American Studies (Cambridge University Press) Vol. 25 (1991), pp. 71-78.