Frances Calderon de la Barca: Life in Mexico

Inka Piegsa-Quischotte

For the first time in my life, I was on my way to Mexico. Two things had brought this trip about: a surprise invitation to the wedding of my Mexican friend's daughter, and... a book.

By chance, I had come across Life in Mexico, by Frances Calderon de la Barca, published in 1842. It had such an impact on my imagination that I decided on the spot to use it as my travel guide, well over 100 years after it was written.

Scottish born Frances Erskine Inglis was the wife of the first Spanish ambassador to the independent Mexico. They met and married in New York, and in...