The Carnation Revolution: The Day Portugal's Dictatorship Fell

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25 April 1974, Lisbon. Over the course of a single day, Europes oldest fascist regime falls. On its 50th anniversary, this is the story of the revolution that changed Portugal forever.


'The Carnation Revolution reads like a political thriller.'The Times


On the night of 24 April 1974, at five minutes to eleven, a Lisbon radio station broadcasts Portugals Eurovision entry. By 6.20 p.m. the next day, Europes oldest fascist regime has fallen. Hardly a shot has been fired. As citizens pour into the streets, they offer carnations to the revolutionary soldiers. For the first time in forty-eight years, Portugal is free.


The Carnation Revolution winds through the streets of Lisbon as the revolution unfolds, revealing the myriad acts of ordinary and extraordinary resistance that made 25 April possible. Its the story of daring escapes from five-storey prisons, soldiers disobeying their officers orders and simple acts of courage by thousands of citizens. Its the story of how a group of young captains felled a globe-spanning empire.


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'I feel like Ive been waiting three decades for precisely this book.' Lara Pawson, author of This Is the Place to Be


'A brilliantly detailed and evocative account of a revolution unlike any other.'Helder Macedo,Emeritus Professor of Portuguese,King's College London


'A gripping account of an episode in European history that should be better known.'Catherine Fletcher, author of The Beauty and the Terror


'A thrilling and inspiring page-turner.'Richard Zimler, author ofThe Last Kabbalist of Lisbon

Reviews

'The Carnation Revolution reads like a political thriller. Fernandes, a Portuguese writer living in London, deftly conveys what a madcap enterprise it was. ...Fernandes has full command of the literature and historical archives on the revolution and his narrative deploys a level of detail few will find fault with.'The Times

'The book offers a lively account of a phenomenon rare by the standards of southern Europe at the time a military coup that ended authoritarianism, and restored democracy and civil rights to the peopleIt is a gripping tale.'Financial Times

'I feel like Ive been waiting three decades for precisely this book... In clear language, with a brilliantly detailed narrative, Alex Fernandes leaves us in no doubt why we should celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Carnation Revolution and never forget why it came about.'

Lara Pawson, author of This Is the Place to Be

'The Carnation Revolution is a detailed, highly readable synthesis of Portuguese-language histories, told in the narrative present, with an emphasis on "history from below".'TLS

'A brilliantly detailed and evocative account of a revolution unlike any other: the Portuguese Revolution of 1974...A book that needs to be read.'

Helder Macedo,Emeritus Professor of Portuguese,King's College London

'Alex Fernandes displays an encyclopaedic knowledge of modern Portuguese political history in this admirably detailed exploration of the revolution that ushered in democracy in 1974. A thrilling and inspiring page-turner.'

Richard Zimler, author of international bestsellerThe Last Kabbalist of Lisbon

'A gripping account of an episode in European history that should be better known. Alex Fernandes narrates in vivid detail how junior officers disillusioned by Portugal's colonial wars launched a daring coup to bring down a dictator, winning popular support in the face of the regime's brutal repression.'

Catherine Fletcher, author of The Beauty and the Terror

'This is a real page-turner of a history book, a truly riveting account of the build-up to Portugal's near-bloodless 1974 Carnation Revolution, the revolution itself, and its messy aftermath, bringing all the participants vividly to life.'

Margaret Jull Costa

'In this in-depth and passionate book about the 1974 revolution that changed Portugal's destiny, Fernandes introduces us to the places where the historic events took place, and provides vivid portraits of the protagonists.'

Nick Caistor, translator ofThe Lizardby Jose Saramago

'Alex Fernandes has given the Carnation Revolution what it deserves: an animating account that gives life to its course Whether when he is writing of cafes in Lisbon where the revolutionaries gathered or the battlefieldsof Angola and Mozambique, where they were first radicalised, Fernandes's prose is compelling with an eye for the details that make history come aliveA book that takes you to Portugal and makes you not want to leave.'

Arash Azizi, author of What Iranians Want

'The Carnation Revolutionreads more like a thriller than a history book, taking the reader through the conspiracy of young captains who brought a democratic Portugal into existence.'Jacobin

Author Bio

Alex Fernandes is a Portuguese writer who has been a long-time researcher of the 1974 revolution. In 2021, he led a walking tour through Lisbon across the key sites, giving him the inspiration for this book. He lives in London and works as a lighting designer in contemporary performance.