La Belle Créole : the Cuban countess who captivated Havana, Madrid, and Paris

Title:

Author:

García-Lapuerta, Alina

ISBN:

9781613745366

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

x, 309 pages, 8 pages of unnumbered plates : color illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Contents:

Family Tree -- Prologue -- Part I. Cuba -- Havana : A City of Sea and Light -- Mercedes and Mamita -- Joaquin -- Behind the Convent Walls -- Adios, Cuba -- Part II. Spain -- Madrid : Grandeur and Decay -- A Sense of Loss -- Treason, Hatred, Vengeance -- The Good Devils -- Adios, España -- Part III. France -- Starting Over -- The Rise of La Belle Créole -- Romancing the Past -- The Literary Socialite -- Part IV. Cuba, Spain, and France -- Daughter of Havana -- A Song for Havana -- Finale: Adagio Cantabile.

Personal Subject:

Merlin, María de las Mercedes Santa Cruz y Montalvo, comtesse de, 1789-1852

Subject Term:

Countesses -- Spain -- Biography.

Countesses -- Cuba -- Biography.

Socialites -- France -- Paris -- Biography.

Socialites -- Spain -- Madrid -- Biography.

Socialites -- Cuba -- Biography.

Women authors, Cuban -- Biography

Slavery -- Political aspects -- Cuba -- History -- 19th century.

Geographic Term:

Spain -- Court and courtiers -- Biography.

Cuba -- History -- 1810-1899 -- Biography.

Summary:

"The adventurous woman nicknamed La Belle Créole is brought to life in this book through the full use of her memoirs, contemporary accounts, and her intimate letters. The fascinating María de las Mercedes Santa Cruz y Montalvo, also known as Mercedes, and later the Comtesse Merlin, was a Cuban-born aristocrat who was years ahead of her time as a writer, a socialite, a salon host, and a participant in the Cuban slavery debate. Raised in Cuba and shipped off to live with her socialite mother in Spain at the age of 13, Mercedes triumphed over the political chaos that blanketed Europe in the Napoleonic days, by charming aristocrats from all sides with her exotic beauty and singing voice. She married General Merlin in Napoleon's army and discussed painting with Francisco de Goya. In Paris she hosted the city's premier musical salon where Liszt, Rossini, and great divas of the day performed for Rothschilds, Balzac, and royalty. Celebrated as one of the greatest amateur sopranos of her day, Mercedes also achieved fame as a writer. Her memoirs and travel writings introduced European audiences to 19th-century Cuban society and contributed to the debate over slavery. Mercedes has recently been rediscovered as Cuba's earliest female author and one who deserves a place in the canon of Latin American literature"--

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury)	972.912405 GAR	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Stillwater Public Library	972.912405 GAR	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

2015 Internation Latino Book Awards Honorable Mention for Best Biography in English

Known for her beauty and angelic voice, Mercedes Santa Cruz y Montalvo, la Belle Créole, was a Cuban-born star of nineteenth-century Parisian society. She befriended aristocrats and artists alike, including Balzac, Baron de Rothschild, Rossini, and the opera diva La Malibran.

A daughter of the creole aristocracy, Mercedes led a tumultuous life, leaving her native Havana as a teenager to join her mother in the heart of Madrid's elite society. As Napoleon swept Spain into the Peninsular War, Mercedes' family remained at the center of the storm, and her marriage to French general Christophe-Antoine Merlin tied her fortunes to France. Arriving in Paris in the aftermath of the French defeat, she re-created her life, ultimately hosting the city's premier musical salon. Acknowledged as one of the greatest amateur sopranos of her day, she nurtured artistic careers and daringly paved the way for well-born singers to publicly perform in lavish philanthropic concerts. Beyond her musical renown, Mercedes achieved fame as a writer. Her memoirs and travel writings introduced European audiences to nineteenth-century Cuban society and contributed to the debate over slavery. Scholars still quote her descriptions of Havana life and recognize her as Cuba's earliest female author.

Mercedes epitomized an unusually modern life, straddling cultures and celebrated on both sides of the Atlantic. Her memoirs, travel writings, and very personal correspondence serve as the basis for this first-ever English-language biography of the passionate and adventuresome Belle Créole.

Author Notes

Born in Havana, Alina García-Lapuerta holds degrees in international economics from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and international relations from Tufts University's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and worked for a number of years in banking. Now based in London with her Spanish American husband and their two children, she spends considerable time in South Florida. She is a member of Biographers International Organization and the Biographers' Club.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Just as Cuba's earliest female author, Maria de las Mercedes de Santa Cruz y Montalvo (often called La Belle Creole), enchanted 19th-century Europeans with lush descriptions of her homeland, Garcia-Lapuerta captures the reader's imagination with vivid details of Mercedes's life in Cuba, Madrid, and Paris. Drawing on Mercedes's memoirs, along with contemporary letters and accounts, Garcia-Lapuerta depicts the vivacious and daring Mercedes as an influential figure in aristocratic circles on both sides of the Atlantic. The biography begins with Mercedes's early years, which she spent with her great-grandmother while her parents traveled the globe. Shortly after her father returned, Mercedes was whisked away to foreign lands, where she remained for a significant portion of her life-first Spain and then, as political tensions and her husband's position in Napoleon's defeated army dictated, France. In Paris, Mercedes grew into an accomplished society woman, hosting salons that attracted famous musicians, writers, and other members of high society. She won acclaim as an amateur soprano before turning to writing, the talent that cemented her legacy in Latin American history. Garcia-Lapuerta's beautifully written account of La Belle Creole illuminates lesser-known aspects of 19th-century transatlantic culture and the roles powerful women were able to play in it. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Library Journal Review

Born into an aristocratic creole Cuban family, Mercedes Santa Cruz y Montalvo (1789-1852) left Cuba at 13, first landing in Madrid before settling in Paris. Upon marrying a French general of the Napoleonic era, she became a well-known Parisian socialite and even hosted a musical salon that attracted a variety of artistic talents. Garcia-Lapuerta, like her subject a native of Havana, explores the life of this fascinating woman-known as the Countess of Merlin-in her incisive debut. This work marks the first full-length English-language biography of the countess and draws upon her letters, memoirs, and contemporary news accounts to make a highly readable story. The countess returned to Havana in 1840 and wrote about her trip in a travel account published in French and Spanish. Subsequently, she wrote two historical accounts of Cuba that were read worldwide. Her most prominent work, Viaje a la Habana, was published in 1844 and is still cited in histories of the country. VERDICT An influential biography that will captivate readers of all types.-Boyd Childress, formerly with Auburn Univ. Libs., AL (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Library Journal Review

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