1996 0-7734-8897-9 In these early novels Sender concerned himself with the historical background to the socio-political problems of the 1930s and the moral qualities of those involved in the revolutionary struggle, in particular the Anarchists and Communists with whom he became involved. He also expressed a philosophical point of view which places man in a specific relationship with other men and with the universe as a whole. The novels show his attempt to integrate his socio-political and philosophical ideals. This study fills a gap in the critical bibliography of Sender - a gap which has been identified by a series of critics. This full appreciation of the writer's early works, seen as a whole, and the treatment they received after 1936 is essential to our understanding of a writer who is considered one of the most popular and important Spanish novelists of the twentieth century.