José María Gironella Pous, known in Catalan as Josep Maria Gironella i Pous (31 December 1917 in Darnius – 3 January 2003 in Arenys de Mar) was a Catalonian Spanish author best known for his fictional work The Cypresses Believe in God (Los cipreses creen en Dios), which was published in Spain in 1953 and translated into English in 1955 by Harriet de Onís (1899-1969), a translator who usually specialized in Latin-American fiction.
Gironella's key work, his trilogy about the Spanish Civil War—Los cipreses creen en Dios (The Cypresses Believe in God), 1953; Un millón de muertos (One Million Dead), 1961; and Ha estallado la paz (The Peace has Burst), 1966—attained remarkable success.
In a sequel to Cypresses, One Million Dead (Un millón de muertos), translated by Joan MacLean, Gironella follows the Alvear family through the war.
[4] In its pages, he said, "The sane and the moderate, caught helplessly in a dilemma they did not ask for, must throw in their lot with one violent party or another till mercifully the passions of the war submerge them and confirm their decision.
"[5] In contrast, many modern scholars have strongly objected to the errors, omissions and modifications made by Gironella regarding the speech by the University of Salamanca's dean, philosopher Miguel de Unamuno, against the military rebels.