Conflicts of Interest: The Letters of Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton

by Maria Amparo Burton, Rosaura Sanchez (Editor), Beatrice Pita (Editor),

Overview of Conflicts of Interest: The Letters of Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton

Letters. Latino/Latina Studies. María Amparo Ruiz de Burton, the recently discovered nineteenth-century novelist, broke many of the boundaries that circumscribed the life of both women and Hispanics in the southwestern territories of the United States. Not only was she the first Hispanic novelist to write in English, but her courage and resolve took her into the circles of governmental and financial power where very few women had tread before. This volume is as complete a collection of the Ruiz de Burton letters as is possible, given the imperfect historical record. Included are various personal and business documents and a collection of articles about her and her family.

Synopsis of Conflicts of Interest: The Letters of Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton

"Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton, the recently discovered California nineteenth-century novelist, struggled against the boundaries that circumscribed the life of both women and Latinos in the southwestern territories of the United States. Not only was she the first Latina novelist to write in English, but her circumstances, ambition and resolve took her into circles where relatively few women could venture." "Conflicts of Interest captures the complex terrain within which Ruiz de Burton moved, pulled in different directions as she was by tensions of class, race, gender, and nationality. The trajectory of Ruiz de Burton's life, as viewed through her correspondence, makes for a compelling and revealing narrative, one that brings to life the conflictive evolution of discourse and culture in the Southwest as it was becoming integrated into the United States in the latter half of the nineteenth century." This volume is as complete a collection of the Ruiz de Burton letters as is possible, given the lacunae of the historical record. Included with the letters are various personal and business documents and a collection of articles about Ruiz de Burton and her family. Among her correspondents were such important historical figures as Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, Jose Matias Moreno, George Davidson, Samuel L. M. Barlow, E. M. Morse, Prudenciana Moreno, and Platon Vallejo. This album is accompanied by a scholarly introduction by researchers Sanchez and Pita, who reconstitute and situate Ruiz de Burton's life and times through their analysis and commentary.

Library Journal

Ruiz de Burton (1831-95), believed to be the first author of Mexican origin to write and publish novels in English in the United States, is the focus of this well-researched, comprehensive work on her life and correspondence. S nchez and Pita (Univ. of California, San Diego), internationally recognized authorities on the subject, also edited the recently reissued novels of Ruiz de Burton, The Squatter and the Don and Who Would Have Thought It? Here they provide the context for these novels and other writings in six chronological chapters. The editors have gathered extensive historical and critical commentary on the time period and on Ruiz de Burton's life, covering U.S., Mexican, and French history. These commentaries bring in-depth, contextual information to the letters, legal documents, court records, newspaper articles, and other documents that follow. Most of Ruiz de Burton's correspondence is in Spanish, her first language, and is here presented in the original without translation. The commentaries and the correspondence reveal an intelligent, spirited, persistent, enterprising writer and the tensions of gender, race, class, and nationality within her and within 19th-century American culture. This scholarly work, suited for bilingual readers, crosses the boundaries of gender studies, history, politics, economics, and literature. Highly recommended for academic and large public libraries, and Southwest collections. Jeris Cassel, Rutgers Univ. Libs., New Brunswick, NJ Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

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