Novel
Una dama de primera
Not translated into English
Acracia Sarasqueta de Smyth · 1979
Synopsis
A love story set in Panama from 1822 to 1870, when the isthmus belonged to Colombia, centred on Aurora de la Estrella and Henry D'Couvert, against a background of independence movements and separatist temptations. The aristocracy of colonial stock looks down on the people of the outlying districts, and the future statesman Buenaventura Correoso appears in it as the son of the seamstress doña Chavé, born in Portobelo, white but raised in the poor quarters, a handsome young man who makes the ladies of high society dream.
Context
The novel won first prize in the novel section of the Ricardo Miró competition, in 1979 according to the blog robert-mimundo, in 1981 according to Panamá América, which reports the protests this choice provoked. It was her third distinction in the same competition: she had won third prize with El guerrero, in 1961 or 1962 depending on the sources, and second prize in 1966 with Valentín Corrales, el panameño.
Who it is for
A romantic fresco, in Spanish, with no published translation. It helps to know that the isthmus was Colombian from 1821 to 1903.
Prizes and reception
Rodrigo Miró recommended it: “it must be read,” he said, for its well-drawn characters and the way each situation is told.
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