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From the end of the twentieth century, Spain has experienced a so called memory boom. With the rise of the new generation of 'grand children of the Spanish Civil War' (1936- 1939), and the breaking of the taboo which rested upon the traumatic past of that war and the following dictatorship of Franco, a debate has recently been opened on the past and the political transition to democracy. In contrast to the aspirations of the politicians of the transition who aimed at a pact for silence, Spanish society has started to dedicate herself to the recuperation of the cultural memory and the true past. This initiative is influential in all social spheres, including literature. The present article will investigate the term 'cultural memory' and the way it has been institutionalized in an artificial form in the Spanish politics and literature. Following, the recent tendency of the memory recuperation will be discussed in the light of the literature of the new historical novel. Key words: Spain, cultural memory, mémoire collective, historical literature, the new historical novel, Spanish Civil War, dictatorship, political transition.