Federico Garcia Lorca's first book, published when he was just nineteen, is a series of meditations on Spanish art, landscapes and history. Brimming with passion and excitement, the young writer travels in search of Spain's essential spirit; sunsets in Granada, the Gothic magnificence of Burgos Cathedral, "the savage splendour" of Castiles' mountains and plains. While Lorca celebrated Spanish culture- romantic gardens, agonised crucifixes, Gregorian plainchant and "the bite of flamenco" - he was also fearlessly critical when, for example, the harshness of celibacy of monks' lived or poverty and injustice aroused his rage. Serifs new edition of this formative work by one of the twentieth century's greatest writers is embellished by Julian Bell's evocative illustrations,which take the reader straight to the heart of Lorca's Spain. With its rich, poetic prose, Sketches of Spain is a missing piece in the jigsaw puzzle of a creative life cut tragically short by the author's assassination a