In the Shadow of the Angel

By Kathryn S. Blair

Book Overview

M?xico es el escenario de esta novela con toques de biograf?a que se refiere a Antonieta Rivas Mercado, hija del arquitecto constructor del monumento a la independencia mejor conocido como El ?ngel. La obra fue escrita por la esposa del ?nico hijo que ella dej?. Toda la informaci?n que sustenta el relato, por lo tanto, viene de fuentes muy cercanas a la protagonista. De esta forma se genera una historia entretenida y bien estructurada en la que proliferan las amplias descripciones de circunstancias y personas que rodearon la vida de esa mexicana. Antonieta naci? con el siglo y vivi? intensamente las turbulentas primeras d?cadas de esa ?poca en su pa?s; incluido el final del largo r?gimen de Porfirio D?az. Por eso la autora aprovecha su vida para puntualizar en aspectos m?s generales de la vida social y pol?tica de los aztecas. La obra conseguir? cautivar a los lectores con su prosa ligera y llena de realismo.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0971995060
• ISBN13: 9780971995062
• Release Date: January 1
• Publisher: Planeta
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

A Wonderful Historical Novel

I had the fortune of reading this book a few years ago, and since then I have been buying it as a gift for my friends and business acquaintances. It portrays the real Mexico at the turn of the 19th Century, and narrates the customs and habits of the elite in Mexican society that are not well-known or understood and still present in today's society. If you enjoy history, you will love this book.

A la sombra del Angel

Lovely, exciting historical drama from the end of the 19th century passing by the mexican revolution and the end of the romantic era and the dead of Antonieta in 1931 in Paris. Follow the lives of Antonieta and her family, her father Antonio Rivas Mercado was the architecht of the Independence Angel monumment in Mexico city. Sweet, funny, sad, violent and poetic a real best seller. Writen by Antonieta's daugther in law.

A wonderful book! ...but I could be prejudiced!

I think that the book is wonderful, not only historically correct, but incredibly entertaining. Albert Blair, in the book, was my "Uncle Albert" who often came to our family's home for Thanksgiving dinner. As kids we were fastinated by him since he was from Mexico and would bring us "adult" gifts (like Guerlain perfume when I was around 10 years old...I still have the bottle!) Little did I know what a really fascinating life he had lead! I have been to Mexico and stayed at the home of the wonderful author. I hope she writes again! ...

excellent read

I whole-heartedly agree with the reviewer from Connecticut. An excellent book. Very interesting. Really gives you a feel for Mexico in the early part of the 20th century. My only complaint is about the quality of the printing of the book. It is lousy. Their are many misspelled words and punctuation marks out of place. The quality of the photographs in the book is awful. I also have the book in Spanish and the quality of that copy is 100 times better. And there are additional photos not in the English language version.

A truly important book, truly beautifully written

The fascinating life of Antonieta Rivas Mercado, an impressive woman and one of Mexico's feminist heroines, told by the daugher-in-law she never knew. You will have to read this inspired biography and sprawling, gorgeously-written social history to learn why Antonieta never met Kathryn Blair -- in the meantime I can tell you that I would surely like to meet this wonderful author myself. Both English- and Spanish-speaking friends agree that her prose is extraordinary, with intelligence and grace shining through everything she writes. While drafting IN THE SHADOW OF THE ANGEL, Blair had access to a range of primary sources that most researchers would kill for, and she used them wisely and wonderfully, to bring both Antonieta, and her dramatic era (she was "born with the century" in 1900, and participated in many of its most important events and political-cultural currents), to life. Reading this fine book will definitely deepen one's understanding of Mexico in the first half of the 20th century, as well as one's regard for the strength of Mexican women; I believe it should be required reading of anyone who's been razzle-dazzled by Frida-mania!