María de las Mercedes Santa Cruz y Montalvo

Claire Emilie Martin (California State University, Long Beach)

Ed. by Elisabeth Gerwin, University of Lethbridge
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.5.2.05: French Writing and Culture: The Nineteenth-Century , 1800-1900.
Vol. editors: David Elwyn Evans (University of St Andrews), Edward Forman (University of Bristol), Elisabeth Gerwin (University of Lethbridge), Nigel Harkness (University of Newcastle upon Tyne), Tim Unwin (University of Bristol), David Williams (University of Sheffield), Jennifer Yee (University of Oxford)

Dates

Born 5 Feb 1789
Died 31 Mar 1852
Activity 1831-1852

Places

Born in Cuba
Active in France

Activities

Primary

Autobiographer
Travel writer

Other

Biographer
Essayist
Novelist

Resources

de las Mercedes' Works

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The Franco-Cuban writer María de las Mercedes Santa Cruz y Montalvo, better known as Condesa de Merlin [Countess Merlin], was born on 5 February 1789 in Havana, Cuba, and died in France on 31 March 1852. An aristocrat who arrived in Europe at age twelve, she wrote exclusively in French and held one of the most celebrated Parisian salons of the first half of the nineteenth century. Mercedes Merlin wrote political as well as social critiques of the colonial system, slavery, and women’s role in society. She followed the early romantics’ notions of the self as an invaluable source of inspiration and creative energy, and her own life and circumstances remained at the heart of all her works. Conscious of her foreignness on both sides of the Atlantic, Merlin used her dual identity to…

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1279 words

Citation: Martin, Claire Emilie. "María de las Mercedes Santa Cruz y Montalvo". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 29 August 2024 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=15261, accessed 16 October 2024.]