Juan Valera was born on October 18th, 1824 in Cabra, Córdoba to an aristocratic family. However, his father was persecuted and jailed in the days of Fernando VII due to his liberal ideals. Valera attended university in both Granada and Madrid.

Gibson was born in Dublin in 1939 and educated at Newtown school in Waterford and Trinity College, Dublin. He lectured in Spanish at Queen's University, Belfast, and then became Reader in Modern Spanish Literature at London University.

Hugh Thomas is a British historian who specialises in Hispanic culture and holds the title of Lord Thomas of Swynnerton. He is a prolific author and one of his best-known books is "The Spanish Civil War" is a classic work. Thomas is particularly enamoured of Seville and Semana Santa (Holy Week).

Paul Preston is a British historian who has been researching the Spanish Civil War for more than 30 years.