The Enlightenment Creeps In

It’s true! I have a publication date for THE DUEL FOR CONSUELO. It comes out on June 15 with Booktrope, and I am beyond excited. CONSUELO is the story of a woman torn between love and duty, the old religion and new survival, two men, two worlds. It will take you back to 1711, in Colonial Mexico.

In 1711 the Inquisition’s reach and power was fading. The Spanish king, starved for cash after fighting wars on two fronts, no longer had the funds to chase “infidels.” The ripe pickings of the Jewish lands and fortunes had long ago been plundered, and the time and effort it took to search out false Christians brought too little return. The Inquisition, or the Holy Office, was a Church function, of course, but without the king’s support its power was severely diminished.

In the rest of Europe the tendrils of the Enlightenment were creeping in, and even Spain couldn’t hold off the light much longer. Far away, in Colonial Mexico, the effects of this change were somewhat conflicted. On the one hand, the distance had made it harder to keep the colonies in line, and mainstream thinking took on a regional flavor all its own. But on the other, the creollos oft-times wanted to be more Spanish than the Spanish, so they kept with their intrenched views while Europe progressed.

That’s the world Consuelo inhabits.  Join me soon for the whole story!

4 comments

    1. Why thank you kindly! (I looked it up. It isn’t spam.) Your site, writerhaunted.blogspot.com is mighty scary, in exactly the way you want it to be!

  1. Your book sounds incredible, Claudia! Since I write contemporary fiction, I have so much admiration for historical fiction. I love the way it gives us a glimpse into a completely different time and place. But I imagine it requires a lot of research and hard work! Kudos to you. I look forward to picking up the book when it’s released in June!

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