Title: The news from Paraguay
Description: The year is l854. In Paris, Francisco Solano -- the future dictator of Paraguay -- begins his courtship of the young, beautiful Irish courtesan Ella Lynch with a poncho, a Paraguayan band, and ahorse named Mathilde. Ella follows Franco to Asuncion and reigns there as his mistress. Isolated and estranged in this new world, she embraces her lover's ill-fated imperial dream -- one fueled by a heedless arrogance that will devastate all of Paraguay.With the urgency of the narrative, rich and intimate detail, and a wealth of skillfully layered characters, The News from Paraguay recalls the epic novels of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Mario Vargas Llosa.
Subjects: Mistresses, Irish, award:national_book_award=2004, Presidents, award:national_book_award=fiction, Paraguayan War, 1865-1870, Biographical fiction, Fiction, Historical Fiction, National Book Award Winner, Love stories, Women, Fiction, historical, general, Paraguay, fiction, Fiction, biographical
Places: Paraguay
People: Elisa Alicia Lynch (1835-1886), Francisco Solano López (1827-1870)