Fictionalising the extraordinary story of Eliza Lynch of whom there are several biographies. She was an Irish famine victim who fled to Paris in the 1850s, became a courtesan and ended up Empress of Paraguay. Quite a tale. It is a paperback original, there is no hardback.
1854. In Paris, Francisco Solano – the future dictator of Paraguay – picks up a blue feather fallen from the hat of a beautiful woman. With this small gesture begins his pursuit of the remarkable Irish courtesan Eliza Lynch.
Captivated by a unique courtship involving a poncho and a Paraguayan band, Eliza follows Francisco to Paraguay where she reigns as his mistress. Isolated and estranged in this new world, she embraces her lover’s ill-fated imperial dream – one fuelled by a heedless arrogance that will devestate all of Paraguay, and throw this European woman into a world of unprecedented privilege, ruthless exploitation and even revolution...
With the urgency of the narrative, the rich romantic detail, and a wealth of skillfully layered characters, The News from Paraguay recalls the vibrant colour of Isabel Allende and the epic sweep of Mario Vargas Llosa.
Tuck’s prose is elegant, the subject well researched’New York Times Book Review
‘The episodic style achieves many lovely moments. Images are so vivid you can almost smell them’ Washington Post Book World
‘Decorous detail and vivid imagery ... Reading The News from Paraguay feels like looking into a crystal ball: seeing pieces of a garden, storm clouds building, lives passing’ Los Angeles Times
‘A tense, elegant novel ... Paraguay emerges as Tuck’s characters do, imperceptibly, until the sounds, smells, and colors of the country saturate the pages’ Boston Globe
Author
About Lily Tuck
Born in Paris, Lily Tuck is the author of three previous novels -- Interviewing Matisse or The Woman Who Died Standing Up, The Woman Who Walked on Water, and Siam. Her short fiction has appeared in the New Yorker, Fiction, and the Antioch Review. She divides her time between Maine and New York City.
