Mary Louise McCaffrey
Mary Louise McCaffrey taught children of migrant farm laborers from Mexico in a Bakersfield , California rural school during the guest worker Bracero program. Along with history of the U. S., she taught students the history of their native country, to which they would return after harvest. In the process, she became fascinated with Mexico ’s turbulent past, rich culture, and passionate people. "A Handful of Sand" is about them, and for them, and for all readers of history and romance. Retired from teaching, McCaffrey now lives in Fresno , also in the Central Valley of California. She is busy writing another historical, about a young man who travels by wagon train after the Civil War from Independence Missouri to California . |
A Handful of Sand: A Love Story Woven Into Violent Class Struggle During the French Invasion of Mexico
Synopsis: Like a Latino Gone With the Wind, “A Handful of Sand” depicts the violent class struggle and repulse of a French invasion that raged in Mexico at the same time as the U. S. Civil War. The history is brought to life by a compelling love story. Spirited aristocrat, Isabella, and charismatic Juarista colonel, Miguel, fall in love and begin a secret second life. Isabella, independent in a male-dominated society, betrays her father and class to give covert aid to Juarista guerrillas. Miguel leads daring raids against the French on the northern desert. Their clandestine love affair, woven into turbulent Mexican history, is a web of secrets, lies, and subplots with the intrigue and suspense of a mystery. The star-crossed lovers try to find fulfillment amidst real and perceived betrayals.
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