Cecilia Valdés, or, El Angel Hill / Cirilo Villaverde ; translated from the Spanish by Helen Lane ; edited with an introduction and notes by Sibylle Fischer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Villaverde, Cirilo, 1812-1894.

Contributor:

Brouwers-Fischer, Sibylle.

Series:

Library of Latin America

Standardized Title:

Cecilia Valdés. English

Language:

English

Spanish

Genre:

Fiction.

Physical Description:

xli, 501 pages ; 22 cm.

Other Title:

Angel Hill

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2005.

Summary:

Originally published in New York City in 1882, Cirilo Villaverde's novel has fascinated readers inside and outside Cuba since the late nineteenth century. In this new translation from the Spanish, a vast landscape emerges of the moral, political, and sexual depravity caused by slavery and colonialism. Set in the Havana of the 1830s, the novel introduces us to Cecilia, a beautiful light-skinned mulatta, who is being pursued by Leonardo, the son of a Spanish slave trader. Unbeknownst to the two, they are the children of the same father. Eventually Cecilia gives in to Leonardo's advances; she becomes pregnant and gives birth to a baby girl. When Leonardo, who gets bored with Cecilia, agrees to marry a white upper-class woman, Cecilia vows revenge.

Masterfully translated by Helen Lane, Cecilia Valdes opens a new window to the experience of Spanish colonialism in Cuba and the intricate problems of race relations in the Caribbean.

Contents:

Series Editors' General Introduction vii

Cecilia Valdes xxxiii.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [499]-501).

ISBN:

0195143949

0195143957

OCLC:

52821440

Publisher Number:

9780195143942

9780195143959