WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT IT?

A major rediscovery—the first novel by a Mexican American Woman

María Amparo Ruiz de Burton was the first Mexican American woman to write novels in English and the first nineteenth-century California writer to publish a novel in the aftermath of the Mexican-American War. Her first book, Who Would Have Thought It?, tells the story of Lola, a young, orphaned Mexican girl rescued from Indian captors by one Dr. Norval, who returns with Lola to his New England home. Though the townspeople initially shun the interloper, they become transfixed by Lola once word about the gold accompanying her gets out. Through the riveting personal story of a young girl’s coming-of-age, Who Would Have Thought It? offers a stunning portrayal of the clash of cultures and communities, and a fresh perspective on Civil War America.

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María Amparo Ruiz de Burton (1832–1895) was born in Loreto, Baja Mexico. She is also the author of The Squatter and the Don.

Amelia María de la Luz Montes is an associate professor of English and ethnic studies at the University of Nebraska—Lincoln.