Publisher: Dundurn Press (June 18, 2024) Category: Historical Fiction, African American Historical Fiction, Women’s Literature Tour Dates September 10-October 3, 2024 ISBN: 978-1459752771 Available in Print and ebook, 306 pages
Description What They Said About Luisa by Erika Rummel
An enchanting telling of the complex and fascinating life of real-life Luisa Abrego of Seville, who forges a new life after freedom from slavery in colonial Mexico and gets caught in the far-reaching Spanish Inquisition.
Luisa Abrego, a slave in Seville, is set free upon her master’s death and marries a white man. After boarding Luisa’s illegitimate child with the nuns of St. Clare, the couple sets out for Mexico. There Luisa is accused of bigamy and tried in the court of the Inquisition.
The narratives here are not Luisa’s own. They are those of witnesses who encountered her: housewives, nuns, miners, lawyers, inquisitors. These are European voices, in whose accounts, a fractured portrait of a fascinating and complex woman emerges, like glimpses of a figure moving past a mirror.
Based on 16th century trial records of the real Luisa, this novel is not just one woman’s life in fragments, but a carefully researched imagining, told in vivid, distinct voices, of how the Inquisition affected the Spanish colonies.
Review What They Said About Luisa by Erika Rummel
“I wondered how the alumbrados would fare under the watchful eye of that court of justice once it started operating in Mexico – not much better, I warrant, than under the Spanish institution whose judgment they fled.”
A fascinating look at a very controversial time in history, ‘What They Said About Luisa,’ takes the life of a real woman, Luisa Abrego and gives a realistic take on what the people around her might have felt. Each chapter of this novel is told from a different perspective – one person who was affected by Luisa Abrego, the former slave who became a free woman and traveled to the new world.
Luisa first learned about the concept of bigamy after traveling to Mexico with her new husband, and began to fear that she was guilty of it, herself. See, Luisa had been proposed to by another young man shortly after she was granted her freedom at the death of her master. Although the two were not married in practice, the Catholic church’s rules for marriage essentially said that they were married in spirit. Luisa gave herself over to the Spanish Inquisition for trial, essentially leaving her fate in the hands of God.
Obviously, I’m not going to spoil the ending of the book, but with a writer like Ericka Rummel, even a story that you may have heard before becomes something new and exciting!
I have read four of Rummel’s other works, The ‘Loneliness of the Time Traveler,’ ‘Evita and Me,’ ‘The Inquisitor’s Niece,’ and ‘Head Games.’ Every one enthralled me. Rummel has such a talent for storytelling – particularly in historical fiction – that I find myself thrilled whenever I get the opportunity to read one of her novels! I can’t wait to find out what she has in store for us next!
About Erika Rummel
Award winning author, Erika Rummel is the author of more than a dozen non-fiction books and ten novels. Her tenth novel, ‘’What They Said About Luisa’ was published on June 18, 2024..
She won the Random House Creative Writing Award (2011) for a chapter from ‘The Effects of Isolation on the Brain’ and The Colorado Independent Publishers’ Association’ Award for Best Historical Novel, in 2018. She is the recipient of a Getty Fellowship and the Killam Award.
Erika grew up in Vienna, emigrated to Canada and obtained a PhD from the University of Toronto. She taught at Wilfrid Laurier and U of Toronto. She divides her time between Toronto and Los Angeles and has lived in Argentina, Romania, and Bulgaria.
Giveaway What They Said About Luisa by Erika Rummel
This giveaway is for 1 print copy or 1 pdf copy. Print is open to the U.S. only. eBook is open worldwide. This giveaway ends on October 3, 2024 midnight, pacific time. Entries accepted via Rafflecopter only.
Publisher: Dundurn Press (June 18, 2024) Category: Historical Fiction, African American Historical Fiction, Women’s Literature Tour Dates September 10-October 3, 2024 ISBN: 978-1459752771 Available in Print and ebook, 306 pages
Description What They Said About Luisa by Erika Rummel
An enchanting telling of the complex and fascinating life of real-life Luisa Abrego of Seville, who forges a new life after freedom from slavery in colonial Mexico and gets caught in the far-reaching Spanish Inquisition.
Luisa Abrego, a slave in Seville, is set free upon her master’s death and marries a white man. After boarding Luisa’s illegitimate child with the nuns of St. Clare, the couple sets out for Mexico. There Luisa is accused of bigamy and tried in the court of the Inquisition.
The narratives here are not Luisa’s own. They are those of witnesses who encountered her: housewives, nuns, miners, lawyers, inquisitors. These are European voices, in whose accounts, a fractured portrait of a fascinating and complex woman emerges, like glimpses of a figure moving past a mirror.
Based on 16th century trial records of the real Luisa, this novel is not just one woman’s life in fragments, but a carefully researched imagining, told in vivid, distinct voices, of how the Inquisition affected the Spanish colonies.
Praise For What They Said About Luisa by Erika Rummel
Bookbub: listed among 10 best historical fiction books of 2024
“A deep dive into 16th century Spain and Mexico, during the dangerous times of the Spanish Inquisition, superbly crafted by an experienced historical novelist. A must read.”-Pam Royl, author of The Last Secret
“Rummel’s whole novel is marvellous, full of wisdom, learning, and insight.”-Jonathan Locke Hart, historian, literary scholar, and poet
“a captivating and meticulously researched historical novel that offers a vivid and compelling portrayal of the life of Luisa Abrego, an emancipated woman who forges a new future for herself in colonial Mexico. an intriguing subject and narrative approach, making it a literary masterpiece that deserves to be cherished and experienced. Rummel’s storytelling is both enchanting and thought-provoking, as she weaves a complex and fascinating tale of Luisa’s life, from her emancipation in Seville to her journey to colonial Mexico. The author’s attention to historical detail and her carefully researched imagining of Luisa’s life bring the sixteenth-century setting to life, offering readers a rich and immersive reading experience.”-Trishita Das, GluedToBook
“Overall, this was a very enjoyable read. The characters are wonderfully flushed out and realized, and the history in it is vivid and ever-present. I would highly recommend this book.”- Colleen Earle, Goodreads
“an illuminating novel of historical fiction set in Seville, Spain during the 16th century and the Spanish Inquisition. Refreshing. Brilliantly told from multiple perspectives.”-Dizzy, Goodreads
Excerpt What They Said About Luisa by Erika Rummel
Seville, 1575, Ana Rodriguez’ house
This morning Eugenia dropped in for a visit.
“My dear Ana,” she said, grasping my hand and kissing me on both cheeks. “You won’t believe what I just heard.” She paused and looked at me expectantly as if I could read her mind.
“Well, what have you heard?”
“Luisa is back from Mexico!”
“No! That little minx — she is back?”
“Yes, and she has opened a candle shop in San Bernardo.” Eugenia was breathless with excitement. “She must have struck it rich in Mexico.”
“If she’s got money, I bet she made it by selling her body,” I said, bile rising in my throat. “I hate that girl.”
“I don’t blame you,” Eugenia said. “After what she put you through. Or rather what your husband put you through– may his soul rest in peace — but that’s men for you. You give them everything, you bear them a son, and they cheat on you with a young girl, a mulatta by preference, because they say they are better at – well, I won’t say any more. All men are ingrates.”
I had known about the affair of course. Everyone did. A blind man couldn’t have missed what was going on between Diego and Luisa, but I thought: Let him have his fun with one of the house slaves. They don’t count. And they can be had for free. Better that way than spending his money in one of those houses of infamy and picking up some awful disease from a whore. Besides, God knows I had done my duty by him, and was tired of being pawed in bed when I would rather sleep. Only sometimes I think, if I had been more loving to Diego – but, no, it wasn’t my fault. Luisa knew how to rouse a man’s desire. She was only twelve or thirteen when Diego bought her, and already strutting her wares, her budding breasts and her mobile hips. A beautiful face, yes, but the devil within, and sneaky too, never said a word more than she had to, just looked at you with those large eyes full of hidden plots.
“I was prepared to overlook it for the sake of keeping the peace,” I said to Eugenia. “But what a shock when the lawyer read Diego’s last will to us!”
I still run hot and cold when I think that Diego left that girl a hundred ducats and set her free. A hundred ducats! Enough to buy a pair of mulattos. I still feel choked at the thought of my helpless jealousy and the indignity I had to suffer and that girl raking in a hundred ducats. Although it’s almost ten years ago that Diego died, the memory still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. How he carried on! To see him give Luisa a radiant smile and look through me as if I didn’t exist. My heart throbbed with pain. Some nights I cried myself to sleep. I was tired of his passions, yes, but I was not tired of love, and I missed his endearments.
Diego had been in the best of health until the day his horse shied and threw him off. He struck his head on a stone balustrade and split it open, spilling his life blood on the pavement. After the servants carried him into the house, he lived for two more days, and at the very end asked for Luisa to come and see him.
I was scandalized and had a good mind to defy him and refuse to fetch the girl, but my son said:
“Let it be, mother. Let the old man have his last bit of fun.”
So I asked the girl to go to Diego, trusting that he was too weak for any fun, although I wasn’t so sure about that, especially when I heard her singing in there.
She was with him for a good half hour, while I sat in the corridor with an aching heart, crying for shame because he preferred her to me even when he was staring death in the face. When she finally came out, I dug my fingers into her arm and gave it a yank.
“You hussy,” I said. “Singing in a dying man’s room!”
“He asked me to,” she said, looking at me in the mulish way those half-castes have.
All that went through my head when I heard Eugenia say that Luisa was back. I pulled myself together.
“That little chit!” I said. “She had a way of looking at men demurely from under her eyelashes — that’s how she trapped them.”
“Yes, there was something demure about her,” Eugenia said. “She was a very quiet girl, hardly ever said a word at all.”
“She was close-mouthed, alright. Didn’t give anything away,” I said.
“But you know what I remember about her? That her embroidery was superb, and that she made the most delicious quince preserves. I never could get my cook to produce the likes of it.”
“The quince preserve was good. I give you that,” I said.
“And, you must admit,” she went on, rubbing salt into my wounds, “Luisa was handy for entertaining your guests at a fiesta. Such a beautiful singing voice she had, and the way she danced the Zarabanda or the Chacona. There was something charming about that girl. And although she didn’t talk much, she was always pleasant and smiling, unlike the others, who are sullen and scowl at you when you tell them to do their work.”
“She was good at wiggling her rear end, you mean, and the men couldn’t take their eyes off her,” I said, impatient with Eugenia paying compliments to a hussy who didn’t deserve them.
That’s Ana Rodriguez’ point of view, but when you read on, you discover that other witnesses to Luisa’s life have widely diverging opinions of her. Some describe Luisa as shy or mysterious or even saintly. Others say that she was upright and courageous, and a loving wife and mother. I leave it to the reader to decide who understood her best and to answer the question: Who was Luisa?
(c) Erika Rummel
About Erika Rummel
Award winning author, Erika Rummel is the author of more than a dozen non-fiction books and ten novels. Her tenth novel, ‘’What They Said About Luisa’ was published on June 18, 2024..
She won the Random House Creative Writing Award (2011) for a chapter from ‘The Effects of Isolation on the Brain’ and The Colorado Independent Publishers’ Association’ Award for Best Historical Novel, in 2018. She is the recipient of a Getty Fellowship and the Killam Award.
Erika grew up in Vienna, emigrated to Canada and obtained a PhD from the University of Toronto. She taught at Wilfrid Laurier and U of Toronto. She divides her time between Toronto and Los Angeles and has lived in Argentina, Romania, and Bulgaria.
Giveaway What They Said About Luisa by Erika Rummel
This giveaway is for 1 print copy or 1 pdf copy. Print is open to the U.S. only. eBook is open worldwide. This giveaway ends on October 3, 2024 midnight, pacific time. Entries accepted via Rafflecopter only.
Publisher: DX Varos Publishing (May 24, 2022) Category: Historical Fiction, Crime, Women’s Literature Tour Dates June 21-July 22, 2022 ISBN: 978-1955065320 Available in Print and ebook, 384 pages
Description Evita and Me by Erika Rummel
Evita Peron’s jewels are missing. Only three people know that they are in a vault in the Swiss Alps; Evita’s corrupt and brutal brother Juan, her bodyguard Pierre, and a teenaged girl Mona, her newest protegee. What happens if two of them team up?
Like Eva herself, Mona comes from a broken family and has to make her own way. Perhaps that’s why the two women feel close. Evita is at the pinnacle of success but already in the grip of a fatal illness. We see her life through the eyes of Mona and Pierre, two people she trusts — and who betray her in the end. Or can theft and murder be justified?
A story of love, adventure, and murder.
My Thoughts Evita and Me by Erika Rummel
It is 1947 and 16-year-old Mona is living in Canada with her mother. She sees her mother as irresponsible, to say the least. One day her mother tells Mona that she is invited by a family friend, Liliana to visit her in Argentina. Mona very much doubts that she was invited and that her mother orchestrated the whole thing to get Mona way for a couple weeks. Mona doesn’t really want to go know that Liliana was most likely roped into it but agrees, if only to get away from her mother’s newest boyfriend.
When Mona arrives, a chauffeur picks her up and brings her to Liliana’s glamourous house. She is told that Liliana is at work but will see her at dinner. Mona soon discovers that her hunch is correct and she was not invited. Liliana seems less than thrilled to see her. However, she makes the best out of the situation.
The next day Liliana suggests that Mona go shopping and her chauffeur drops her off at a high-end shopping district. She will be meeting Liliana’s boss, Evita Peron at dinner that night. She has no money so she buys a dress and charges it to Liliana. Liliana later questions her about this but drops it knowing she cannot be a poor hostess.
To put this review in perspective, I need to mention that Mona herself, declares herself an unreliable narrator of her own story.
At dinner, that night, Mona falls in love with Evita. Luckily, Evita is fond of Mona as well and invites her over the next evening. The friendship blossoms from their and before long, Evita invites Mona to go to Europe with her, where she is going on business. Evita sends Mona an entire new wardrobe for the trip.
Of course, once the trip is coming to it’s conclusion, Evita asked Mona for a very special and very secret favor. She asks her to go to Zurich with Evita’s brother, Juan and most trusted security guy, Pierre to deposit her most prized jewels into a security box. Mona will keep one of only 3 keys and goes back to Canada.
Flash forward to 1952. Mona is in an unhappy marriage and learns that Evita has passed away. Now she is worried that Juan will come after her for her key. He needs all three to get the jewels.
Action packed with beautiful historical detail and amazing writing, ‘Evita and Me’ is not to be missed. This is the fourth book by Ericka Rummel that I have read and I have enjoyed them all. However, this novel is my favorite. Rummel has written over a dozen non-fiction books so she knows how to do her research. That is not enough for a novel like this though. She seamlessly writes with the use of the research, plot, characters, and places with precision.
‘Evita and Me’ captured my full attention from page one and I could not put it down. I read all night and didn’t want it to end! Mona and Evita will stay in my mind for a very long time. I rarely read the same book twice since there are so many, I want to read but I am sure I will read ‘Evita and Me’ again! 5/5
I received the eBook for my honest opinion.
About Erika Rummel
Award winning author, Erika Rummel is the author of more than a dozen non-fiction books and seven novels. Her seventh novel, ‘Evita and Me’ is being published on May 24, 2022.
She won the Random House Creative Writing Award (2011) for a chapter from ‘The Effects of Isolation on the Brain’ and The Colorado Independent Publishers’ Association’ Award for Best Historical Novel, in 2018. She is the recipient of a Getty Fellowship and the Killam Award.
Erika grew up in Vienna, emigrated to Canada and obtained a PhD from the University of Toronto. She taught at Wilfrid Laurier and U of Toronto. She divides her time between Toronto and Los Angeles and has lived in Argentina, Romania, and Bulgaria.
This giveaway is for 2 print copies and is open to Canada and the U.S. only. This giveaway ends on July 23, 2022 midnight, pacific time. Entries accepted via Rafflecopter only.
What They Said About Luisa by Erika Rummel
