“Manolete” Manuel Rodriguez y Sanchez was a figurón, a superstar of 20th century bullfighting.  Barnaby Conrad wrote “The Death of Manolete” an account of his life, career, and especially his final days in 1958.  Pippin Publishing is offering a re-edition of this English language taurine classic just in time for LolaFilm’s roll out of the first big bullfight film in years, “Manolete”

The book gives us a thumbnail biographical sketch of the matador while punching it up with some fascinating personal accounts from some significant people in Manolete’s life. The emotion that comes through some of these reminiscences is palpable and provides a glimpse into the world of the cuadrilla, the close knit team of banderilleros, sword handlers and managers that support every matador de toros.  They become especially poignant given the intensity of their experience and its tragic conclusion

The book also touches on the doomed love affair between Manolete and Lupe Sino, the Spanish actress who became his mistress and the love of his life.  Conrad avoids the temptation to editorialize on the nature of their relationship, neither putting it on a pedestal nor blaming the actress for bewitching the matador. 

All in all Barnaby Conrad sticks fairly well to a “just the facts” approach, which is quite refreshing considering the nature of most bullfight journalism in English. Along with the lush and varied collection of photographs included in the book, this straightforward treatment of the life of possibly the most charismatic bullfighter ever makes “The Death of Manolete” a valuable addition to any aficionado’s taurine library.

 

On Thursday, August 28, 1947, in the bull ring at the Spanish town of Linares, a thiry-year-old millionaire called Manolete (Manuel Laureano Rodriguez) and a Miura bull named Islero killed each other. Conrad recounts Manolete's extraoridinary life here for the first time in English. In combining pictures and text, the reader sees the breeding that made the Spanish boy, the tempering that made the young torero, the sacrifice that made the man, the girl who brought him love, the acclaim that brought him incredible success and finally its price...the undoing that began slowly and ended in one last great afternoon and in a death that if not untimely put out the brightest flame in Spain. Manolete had fired the Latin imagination as no one had done since the Cid. He had become a symbol of Latin pride, valor, and chivalry. But the crowds owned him and he did their bidding...and they had bid him to die.

146 pages. Also includes pages of his performances from the year he became a matador until his death. (From 1939-1946). Oh, Lord, it even includes what the trophies were (1 ear, 2 ears and a tail, etc).

This is for the 1958 edition, 3rd printing. Houghton Mifflin Co. Endpapers are red and white with matadors and bulls on them. Lots of pictures and even some of funeral.

Judy Smith