Manuel Moreno Barranco (24 April 1932 – 22 February 1963) was a Spanish novelist and short-story writer, who suffered a violent death at the prison of Jerez de la Frontera in 1963.

In October 1956, encouraged by the imminent publication of his book, Barranco requested a leave from the Bank of Jerez and moved to Madrid, looking for a new job.

[3] In February 1959, Barranco requested a leave and moved to London, where he worked as an associate editor for the Embassy of Venezuela.

[4] After an initial period of poverty and menial labour, he found a job at the Agricultural Bank of France and made friends among the Spanish exile community.

Although Barranco started a second novel, Bancarios (Bank Clerks), which remained unfinished, his main concern in the last years of his life seems to have been the publication of Arcadia feliz.

In those days Grimau was arrested and almost killed when he was pushed from a window of the General Security Department, just to wind up executed by shooting.

Javier Bellido, a mutual friend, took the writings and hid them in the vaults of the church of San Dionisio, since his brother Luis was its priest; the machine remained here.

[10] Ten days after his arrest, the family was informed that Barranco had "jumped from the prison balustrade", resulting in serious injury.

Local newspaper Ayer reported the next day that Barranco had fallen from the balustrade, making no mention of his incarceration.

[16] Many dubious rumours spread about the reasons for his arrest, for example, that he was involved in some anti-Francoist conspiracy and that he found his missing father in Paris.

[19] In France a committee called "Union of Writers on Behalf of the Truth" was formed to cast light on the facts.

The poet Pablo Neruda read about it in the Chilean press,[24] and the case was cited in books and university papers[25] of the English-speaking world,[26] as well as in France[27] and the Spanish exile.