AMALIA

Amalia has been singled out, with justice, as the most important South American novel of the 19th century. It is an agile narration that combines the most dramatic of situations with ingenious touches
of humour. The story is set in the troubled years of Juan Manuel de Rosas tyranny. In these pages the most diverse types of human beings are described vividly: from the scoundrels of the low-life to those in the highest political and social positions, all of this backed by the testimonial vision of its author, José Mármol, who apart of being a direct witness, of these event, was also a victim of the excesses he describes.
In Amalia the modern reader will find, apart from a detailed portrait of the epoch, a captivating story where crimes and passions blend with heroic feats, like in the best serialised novels. Along with the central characters Daniel Bello and Eduardo Belgrano, --the first represents the author while the second is vaguely based on a real person -- and the heroine, after which the novel is named, a number of real-life characters appear: Juan Manuel de Rosas, his daughter Manuelita, his sisters Mercedes and Agustina, the buffoons, the blood thirsty Mazorqueros, all of them vividly depicted, as if their steps could still be heard echoing in a distant Buenos Aires of the past but at the same time recognisable. Amalia was published in the form of a serialised novel with readers anxiously waiting for each new release.