In Recuerdos de viaje (1882), the Argentine author and intellectual Eduarda Mansilla de Garcia (1838-1892) presents a stimulating travel narrative which encompasses her travel experiences as the wife of an Argentine diplomat posted to Washington, D.C in Lincoln-era United States (1861-1865).
In this captivating and intelligent chronicle, a prototypical work of Latin American female travel writing, Mansilla de García --the daughter of an Independence-era military heroe, niece of the infamous Governor of Buenos Aires, Juan Manuel de Rosas, and sister to one of Argentina's most distinguished Nineteenth Century writers, Lucio Victorio Mansilla-- takes advantage of her distinguished social, cultural and political position and knowledge, casting her traveler's gaze upon the young American republic, and interpreting the cultural and social minutiae of life in mid-Nineteenth Century United States, including the intimate details of domestic and public life --and strife, as she observes the first tremors of the Civil War-- as well as the role of women, history and politics in the fledgling U. S. democracy.
In the preliminary study to this text, Prof. J.P. Spicer-Escalante examines the evolution of the travel genre in the Western world, the appearance and relevance of female travel writing, and the intersection between the author's biography and travel experiences, as well as reflecting on Mansilla de García's broader contribution to Latin American women's travel writing in particular and to travel writing in general, adding in-depth notes that contribute to a more profound comprehension of the author's work.
This new edition of Mansilla de Garcia's classic work - fully annotated, conveniently priced and easily available in the U. S. is a must for any literature course that highlights fin-de-siecle nineteenth century Hispanic American literature in general, as well as other thematics, such as gender issues, female writers, cross-cultural analysis, women's travel writing and Latin American travel writing in particular.
