Banned in Spain?truths, lies and censorship in Kate O'Brien's novels

Resum

This paper tries to shed some light on the reception of Kate O’Brien’s works in Spain during Franco’s dictatorship. As a lover of Spain, the Irish writer spent long periods of her life in that country and some of her experiences were later fictionalised in her novels. Characterised by her portrayal of strong female heroines who did not respond to social or gender expectations, it does not come as a surprise that some of O’Brien novels were banned in Ireland and Spain. Although both countries shared a strong Catholic background and a protectionist censorship system, the censor’s spotting of the subversive and dangerous passages that were to be banned differed greatly. Besides, in the Spanish case, O’Brien was allegedly forbidden to enter the country until 1957, an affirmation that, up until now, has never been questioned. Bearing these aspects in mind, the present study focuses on a thorough analysis of the author’s censorship files stored in Spain and on the research carried out to contest the undocumented assumption related to her expulsion from the country.