The Collected Stories of María Cristina Mena

$12.95

by María Cristina Mena

ISBN: 978-1-55885-211-2
Publication Date: January 1, 1997
Bind: Trade Paperback
Pages: 208

This volume gathers for the first time Mena’s stories written between 1913 and 1931 and published originally in such magazines as Century, American and Cosmopolitan. In her short fiction Mena writes about Mexico for an Anglo-American audience, and skillfully confronts issues of gender, race and nation.

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This book gathers for the first time the English-language fiction of the first Mexican-American woman to appear in major U.S. magazines, María Cristina Mena. Written between 1913 and 1931 and published in such periodicals as Century, Cosmopolitan and T.S. Eliot’s Criterion, the short stories collected here include her best known work, “The Vine-Leaf.”

Mena portrays life in Mexico both before and during the revolution of 1910 in stories that depict tradition and upheaval, class hierarchy and social customs under Porfirio Díaz, the changing roles of women, the influences of Spain and the United States, and the effects of capitalism and modernization. These intriguing narratives open a window onto Mexico’s past, and their underlying themes remain relevant to readers today.

Amy Doherty’s critical introduction features newly recovered biographical information about the author, and includes excerpts of Mena’s correspondences with her magazine editors and with her friend D.H. Lawrence.