Books by Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton

The Squatter and the Don (1885) is a novel by Mexican American author María Amparo Ruiz de Burton. The novel, Ruiz de Burton's second, explores the consequences of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo for the Californios whose land was taken following the Mexican American War. Central to its focus are the ways in which Californios were forced to provide proof of ownership while squatters, with the support of the US government, settled on their land.Following the conquest of California, the Alamar family struggles to assimilate into American culture while maintaining their cultural heritage. Faced with immense prejudice, the Alamars, who like many Californios consider themselves to be racially white, embrace the capitalist culture introduced by American settlers and accelerated by the introduction of the railroad. Against this sociopolitical backdrop, the Alamars become increasingly entwined with the Darrells, a settler family, turning a story of political and economic circumstances into tale of romance between Clarence and Mercedes, whose love becomes representative of a new United States. Both personal and political, historical and fictional, The Squatter and the Don is a novel that captures a complex moment in American history without losing sight of the humanity at its heart.With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of María Amparo Ruiz de Burton's The Squatter and the Don is a classic of Mexican American literature reimagined for modern readers.

Who Would Have Thought It? (1872) is a novel by Mexican American author María Amparo Ruiz de Burton. The novel, Ruiz de Burton's debut, is a semi-autobiographical story of race, class, and gender set before and during the American Civil War. Central to its focus are the ways in which the Californio elite were forced into competition with Anglo-American settlers arriving out west after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the Mexican American War.While on a geological expedition in the American Southwest, Dr. Norval is tasked with rescuing a young girl from her Apache captors. He finds Maria Dolores Medina, a ten-year-old girl from a prominent Californio family of Spanish-Mexican heritage, and is asked by the girl's mother to adopt her and take her back to New England. Norval promises to do so and returns with the girl, surprising of his wife who harbors deep racial prejudices and mistrusts anyone born into the Catholic faith. As the American Civil War begins, Dr. Norval, a Democrat, is suspected of harboring Confederate sympathies and is eventually forced into exile in Egypt. When he leaves, Lola stays behind with his wife. Both personal and political, historical and fictional, Who Would Have Thought It? is a novel that captures a complex moment in American history without losing sight of the humanity at its heart.With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of María Amparo Ruiz de Burton's Who Would Have Thought It? is a classic of Mexican American literature reimagined for modern readers.