The Hacienda: A Memoir

by Lisa St. Aubin de Teran

Paperback, 1999

Status

Available

Description

Married at sixteen to a man twenty years her senior who spoke no English, she was taken to his ancestral home and estate where she found herself living in the most primitive of conditions, isolated and alone. St. Aubin de Teran ended up virtually running the plantation that belonged to her increasingly demented husband but enjoyed learning the mores and magic of a place that had remained practically unchanged for more than a century. Written in mesmerising prose, this is the extraordinary story of a young woman surviving by her wits and fantasies.

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"When he returned, I was reminded of Jane Eyre"
By sally tarbox on 23 August 2016
Format: Paperback
Fascinating memoir of the author's life from 17 to 24 after she married a mysterious Venezuelan - a local aristocrat, owner of a large sugar plantation, but also a wanted man and one who proved to be
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deranged. "I had decided to do it (marry him) in a public-spirited way; it seemed to mean a lot to him and it didn't mean much to him."

Abandoned by her husband for much of the time, and disapproved of by his wealthy relations, she came to rely much on the 'gente' or people of the estate. Dogged by illness, natural disasters and the challenge of a new baby, the author also tells of the landscape, the animals, her visits from her English mother...
Perhaps the weak point is that we don't really get a feel of her emotions. How was it to be a teenager in the Andes, alone and with such a husband? At times it put me in mind a little of Barbara Comyns' style of writing.
But very enjoyable read.
Includes b/w photos
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