The aim of this study is to present a comprehensive analysis of the novels of Josefina Aldecoa, which span the last three decades. In doing so, it employs a thematic approach, which is combined with a dual theoretical perspective centred on feminism and cultural memory in contemporary Spain. Such a structure accommodates an in-depth investigation of Aldecoa's body of work and seeks to highlight the interconnection between women's experiences and Spain's current preoccupation with cultural memory. Moreover, a key objective of this book is to draw attention to the link between Aldecoa's narrative and the historical and socio-cultural conditions in which it was created, thus establishing the context for each of Aldecoa's novels. This requires an interdisciplinary approach that engages with a number of disciplines, including history and sociology.

Forming part of the generation known as ‘los niños de la guerra’, Aldecoa experienced the trauma of the Spanish Civil War and Francoist dictatorship at first hand. Her literary apprenticeship began with student publications in the 1950s but it was only thirty years later that Aldecoa embarked on a publishing career. The central contention of this study is that Aldecoa's experience therefore transcends that of her immediate generation. Her treatment of themes such as memory, women's daily lives, society, and relationships confirms her unique dual role as a contemporary author concerned with women's position in twentieth- and twenty-first-century Spain and as a writer of the mid-century generation.