In The Shadow of the Angel: Three Critical Decades in Mexico's History

By Kathryn S. Blair

Book Overview

"In the Shadow of the Angel," which has been called Mexico's "Gone with the Wind," takes place during three transformational decades in Mexican history: 1900-1931, as mirrored by the life of an extraordinary Mexican woman, Antonieta Rivas Mercado. The daughter of the architect of Mexico s famous Independence Monument, popularly known as "The Angel," Antonieta defied tradition and class to bring change to her country, and paid the price for her passionate rebellion. Her roller-coaster life paralleled Mexico s struggle for national identity: the final decade of a long dictatorship that ended in the lavish Centennial celebration of 1910; the chaos wrought by ten years of violent revolution; and the ensuing brutal struggle for power among the Generals who established the social and political order by which Mexico is governed today. Brilliant, educated in Europe, heiress to a fortune, Antonieta became both muse and patron to the young writers, artists and musicians of the 1920s who were eager to join the modern world. The "scandalous" Antonieta consorted with the likes of everyone from Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Tina Modotti, and Garcia Lorca, to bullfighters, Communists and ambassadors. She dared seek a divorce: her ill-fated marriage to Albert Blair, an Anglo-American who came to Mexico to fight in the revolution, and her obsession with a homosexual painter became Antonieta s personal v a crusis . In 1928 she entered the political arena, championing the cause of womens' voting rights in the campaign of presidential candidate, Jos Vasconcelos, with whom she shared a vision of an educated, just and democratic Mexico. Committed to their mutual goals, Antonieta devoted her heart and her money to his campaign. Caught in the vortex of the fraudulent election of 1929, her lover defeated, violence flaring, fortune gone, she kidnapped her son and fled to Paris. Though an inspiration to so many, the tired, dispirited woman churned with insecurities and conflicting emotions. At the age of thirty, Antonieta Rivas Mercado committed suicide in Notre Dame Cathedral. During Mexico s Bicentennial celebration in 2010, Antonieta was officially recognized as a primary promoter of modern Mexican culture. The President of Mexico, Felipe Calder n, called Antonieta "our national Angel." Considered a classic in Mexico, "In the Shadow of the Angel" is acclaimed both for its historical and literary content. The author is married to Antonieta s son.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1467932566
• ISBN13: 9781467932561
• Release Date: November 2011
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 596 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A Wonderful Historical Novel

I had the fortune of reading this book a few years ago, and since then I have been buying it as a gift for my friends and business acquaintances. It portrays the real Mexico at the turn of the 19th Century, and narrates the customs and habits of the elite in Mexican society that are not well-known or understood and still present in today's society. If you enjoy history, you will love this book.

A la sombra del Angel

Lovely, exciting historical drama from the end of the 19th century passing by the mexican revolution and the end of the romantic era and the dead of Antonieta in 1931 in Paris. Follow the lives of Antonieta and her family, her father Antonio Rivas Mercado was the architecht of the Independence Angel monumment in Mexico city. Sweet, funny, sad, violent and poetic a real best seller. Writen by Antonieta's daugther in law.

A wonderful book! ...but I could be prejudiced!

I think that the book is wonderful, not only historically correct, but incredibly entertaining. Albert Blair, in the book, was my "Uncle Albert" who often came to our family's home for Thanksgiving dinner. As kids we were fastinated by him since he was from Mexico and would bring us "adult" gifts (like Guerlain perfume when I was around 10 years old...I still have the bottle!) Little did I know what a really fascinating life he had lead! I have been to Mexico and stayed at the home of the wonderful author. I hope she writes again! ...

excellent read

I whole-heartedly agree with the reviewer from Connecticut. An excellent book. Very interesting. Really gives you a feel for Mexico in the early part of the 20th century. My only complaint is about the quality of the printing of the book. It is lousy. Their are many misspelled words and punctuation marks out of place. The quality of the photographs in the book is awful. I also have the book in Spanish and the quality of that copy is 100 times better. And there are additional photos not in the English language version.

A truly important book, truly beautifully written

The fascinating life of Antonieta Rivas Mercado, an impressive woman and one of Mexico's feminist heroines, told by the daugher-in-law she never knew. You will have to read this inspired biography and sprawling, gorgeously-written social history to learn why Antonieta never met Kathryn Blair -- in the meantime I can tell you that I would surely like to meet this wonderful author myself. Both English- and Spanish-speaking friends agree that her prose is extraordinary, with intelligence and grace shining through everything she writes. While drafting IN THE SHADOW OF THE ANGEL, Blair had access to a range of primary sources that most researchers would kill for, and she used them wisely and wonderfully, to bring both Antonieta, and her dramatic era (she was "born with the century" in 1900, and participated in many of its most important events and political-cultural currents), to life. Reading this fine book will definitely deepen one's understanding of Mexico in the first half of the 20th century, as well as one's regard for the strength of Mexican women; I believe it should be required reading of anyone who's been razzle-dazzled by Frida-mania!