Giles Tremlett

Biography

Giles Tremlett is a journalist, historian and best-selling author whose work centres on the histories, cultures and political landscapes of Spain, Portugal and the wider Iberian world.

Giles studied History at the University of Oxford and later worked across Europe before settling in Madrid. From 2007 to 2018, he served as the Madrid correspondent for The Guardian, reporting on Spanish politics, social change and international connections with southern Europe and Latin America.

Alongside journalism, he developed his work as a historian – his publications include Ghosts of Spain Travels Through Spain and Its Silent Past, El Generalísimo Franco: Power, Violence and the Quest for Greatness, Catherine of Aragon: The Spanish Queen of Henry VIII, Isabella of Castile: Europe’s First Great Queen, and The International Brigades: Fascism, Freedom and the Spanish Civil War. He has also contributed to documentary broadcasts, lectures, academic discussions and public forums on Iberian history and contemporary Spain.

Giles’s work frequently takes him across Spain and Portugal, where he continues to study regional histories, civic archives and the architectural record. He enjoys introducing travellers to how landscapes, cities and institutions reveal the deeper patterns of Iberian history, drawing on decades of writing, research and lived experience in the region.