Yeah, she did.
“‘What would the good and proper people of this world do if there were no rogues in it–no social delinquents?…Rogues are useful.’”
Who would have thought it, indeed.
Sentimental, domestic romance novels by women authors boomed in the 1840s and had become expected fare by 1872. Maybe that’s what the original publishers of Who Would Have Thought It? thought they were printing. They were wrong.
Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton was married to a rising star in the U.S. military. Not merely decorative in elite political circles, she was an operator who even had Lincoln’s ear (look for her irreverent and hilarious portrait of him!). But for all her insider access, Ruiz de Burton never lost her perspective as an outsider. No doubt her personal experience as a Mexican American woman in these largely white Anglo spaces played a part. And she had some thoughts to share about that.
The story opens with the Civil War looming, but the Norvals think they have bigger problems when Dr. Norval returns from his travels with an orphaned girl he’s been entrusted to raise. Kidnapped by an Apache tribe who has darkened her skin, Lola isn’t Black, but she sure looks that way to the Norvals –and to all the good people of New England. Abolitionist enough to bleed for the cause on the battlefield, true–and also hypocritical enough to dish up only the finest racism at their breakfast tables and in their drawing rooms.
Oh, wait– did we mention that Lola is loaded?
This will be fun to watch.
Our foreword writer calls Who Would Have Thought It? a “saucy satire” and an “excoriating parody” whose author had no problem skewering the American people for abandoning their democratic ideals and moral code while letting racism, hypocrisy, and greed govern. Sound familiar? Hmm…
Well, that’s why we reprinted it.
At 400-some odd pages, Who Would Have Thought It? may seem a commitment, but it’s a surprisingly easy breezy read. Ruiz de Burton broke her novel up into perfectly portioned chapters so you never bite off more than you can chew– and they all have titles that read like a preview. How to resist reading just one more when the next chapter promises to tell us why “Mrs. Norval did not enjoy her Buckwheat-Cakes, and Julian wouldn’t write any more Poetry.” Or what about “Mrs. Norval’s High Principles begin their Work” followed later by, “Mrs. Norval’s High Principles on the Rampage.”
Right?! Totally unputdownable.
Happy reading!
xx LiBer