Conquistadora

An epic novel of love, discovery, and adventure by the author of the best-selling memoir "When I Was Puerto Rican. " As a young girl growing up in Spain, Ana Larragoity Cubillas is powerfully drawn to Puerto Rico by the diaries of an ancestor who traveled there with Ponce de Leon. And in handsome twin brothers Ramon and Inocente--both in love with Ana--she finds a way to get there. She marries Ramon, and in 1844, just eighteen, she travels across the ocean to a remote sugar plantation the brothers have inherited on the island. Ana faces unrelenting heat, disease and isolation, and the dangers of the untamed countryside even as she relishes the challenge of running Hacienda los Gemelos. But when the Civil War breaks out in the United States, Ana finds her livelihood, and perhaps even her life, threatened by the very people on whose backs her wealth has been built: the hacienda's slaves, whose richly drawn stories unfold alongside her own. And when at last Ana falls for a man who may be her destiny--a once-forbidden love--she will sacrifice nearly everything to keep hold of the land that has become her true home. This is a sensual, riveting tale, set in a place where human passions and cruelties collide: thrilling history that has never before been brought so vividly and unforgettably to life.

About the Author :
Esmeralda Santiago is the author of the memoirs "When I Was Puerto Rican, Almost a Woman, "which she adapted into a Peabody Award-winning film for PBS's Masterpiece Theatre, and "The Turkish Lover; "the novel "America's Dream; "and a children's book, "A Doll for Navidades. "Her work has appeared in "The New York Times, The Boston Globe, "and "House & Garden, "among other publications, and on NPR's "All Things Considered "and "Morning Edition. "Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, she lives in New York. www.esmeraldasantiago.com

Review :
"Santiago brings passion, color, and historical detail to this Puerto Rican "Gone with the Wind, "featuring a hard-as-nails heroine more devoted to her plantation than to any of the men in her life . . . Ana grows up the willful daughter of aristocratic parents during the waning years of Spain's colonial era. [She is] a not-so-innocent convent girl who marries her best friend's fiance's twin brother, then heads to Puerto Rico without her friend, but with both twins in tow. The young men intend to make their fortunes, but it is Ana who has the savvy and determination to persevere through hurricanes, slave revolts, cholera and any other challenge the island has to offer. . . Santiago makes Caribbean history come alive through characters as human as they are iconic. The richness of her imagination and the lushness of her language will serve saga enthusiasts well, and she provides readers a massive panorama of plantation life--plus all you could ever want to know and more about growing sug "Extraordinary . . . a historical novel set in 19th Puerto Rico, featuring a high-handed, strong-willed woman determined to escape her boring upper-class future in Spain. When twin brothers inherit a sugar plantation in Puerto Rico, Ana marries them (who can tell them apart?), and they embark on what for the brothers is a lark, but for Ana is serious business. From the start, she takes to the land and the work of processing cane in the Caribbean, keeping the slaves inherited with the property and adding to their number over the years. She becomes the very image of a conquering hero: implacable, outspoken, demanding. Her husbands languish and fade while Ana runs Hacienda los Gemelos without their help. The issues of social caste, slavery, and sex roles make this a fascinating read. It's an outstanding story, full of pathos, tropical sensuality, and violence--but it also poses uncomfortable moral questions readers are forced to consider . . . Storytelling genius . . . "Conquistadora" is "An enthralling family saga interlaced with meticulously researched details of how the Caribbean economy of the day sustained itself through slave labor. . . . Steely Ana--think Scarlett O'Hara with jet black hair--won't let hurricanes, cholera or even outright revolution keep her from turning a profit raising [sugar] cane. Santiago uses her larger-than-life character to illuminate a pivotal moment in the history of the Western hemisphere. . . . Four stars." --Sue Corbett, "People" "Gloriosa Ana Maria de los angeles Larragoity Cubillas Nieves de Donostia--Ana for short--is slight for a Spanish aristocrat, and unfashionably dark-skinned. In convent school in the 1830s, having eccentrically buried her not-so-pretty nose in the journal of a conquistador, she decides to become one, after a fashion, herself. . . . A decades-long story about marriage, slavery, and calculated choices--Ana makes an unspoken, unnatural pact with her young husband and his twin brother--"Conquistadora "is a splendid expedition into colonial history complete with enrapturing suspense to the very end." --Celia McGee, "O the Oprah Magazine" "Remarkable . . . [An] unpredictable and soaring story [by] an author in full command . . . Santiago encapsules an island's history in the splendid tapestry of Ana's boldly imagined life [and] joins a stellar line-up of Latin American authors who have brought to literary life the maverick women of Spanish colonial times, most notably Isabel Allende and Laura Esquivel . . . Santiago has crafted this elegantly written story from a bountiful imagination that blossomed from conversations with her parents, who grew up in and near sugar plantations; and dogged research into the most intricate details of aristocracy in Seville and colonial life in Cuba, Puerto Rico and New York. . . . Historical lessons abound, but pathos and authenticity keep one glued to the tale. . . . The indomitable Ana has been compared by early reviewers to Scarlett O'Hara "Gloriosa Ana Maria de los angeles Larragoity Cubillas Nieves de Donostia--Ana for short--is slight for a Spanish aristocrat, and unfashionably dark-skinned. In convent school in the 1830s, having eccentrically buried her not-so-pretty nose in the journal of a conquistador, she decides to become one, after a fashion, herself. . . . A decades-long story about marriage, slavery, and calculated choices--Ana makes an unspoken, unnatural pact with her young husband and his twin brother--"Conquistadora "is a splendid expedition into colonial history complete with enrapturing suspense to the very end." --Celia McGee, "O the Oprah Magazine" "An epic beach read . . . Santiago sets her new book in 19th-century Spain, where her young heroine, Ana Larragoity Cubillas, discovers the diaries of an ancestor who traveled with Ponce de Leon. Fascinated by tales of gold nuggets and caribe warriors, Ana makes her way to Puerto Rico with the help of handsome, devious twins--both of whom land u "An enthralling epic that not only illuminates the life of one extraordinary woman, but of the great sweep of Puerto Rican history. Rich with period details, unforgettable drama, and a riveting cast of characters, "Conquistadora" will seduce readers heart and soul." --Cristina Garcia, author of "Dreaming in Cuban " ""Conquistadora" is a wonderful and richly drawn novel, with an unforgettable story that will not only enlighten readers about the fascinating history of Puerto Rico in the 19th century, but delight them with a narrative that is always deeply felt and entertaining. A grand achievement from one of our finest writers." --Oscar Hijuelos, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love "and "Beautiful Maria of My Soul" "Having launched her writing career with the well-regarded memoir "When I Was Puerto Rican, @l