Nuevas consideraciones sobre La Havane de la condesa de Merlin: El viaje a los Estados Unidos

The chapters included in Mercedes Santa Cruz y Montalvo’s La Havane, in which the author talks about her experiences and opinions about the United States, have not received much attention from the critics. This study offers a detailed analysis of these chapters pointing at various socio-political aspects which were determinant in the formulation of the text and its message. Furthermore, this study traces and identifies certain elements related to the genesis and production of La Havane that question accepted assertions and concepts from contemporary critics of Santa Cruz’s work. In the light of revealing comments from nineteenth-century writers and Santa Cruz herself, this study identifies a series of aspects which are fundamental for the understanding of the complexities and contradictions of Santa Cruz’s interesting travel book. © 2015, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.