Frances Calderón De La Barca

Book excerpt: Frances Erskine Inglis, daughter of a prominent lawyer and Freemason, was born in Edinburgh in 1804. As the Marquesa de Calderón de la Barca, she died in Madrid's Royal Palace in 1882. During her life she was a teacher, legation hostess, and successful author, remembered now for her travel classic Life in Mexico and semi-fictional The Attaché in Madrid. But her books tell nothing about the greater part of her far-ranging career, which led through a half-dozen countries in response to bankruptcy, extortion, marriage, diplomacy, and revolution. For this colorful biography the authors have drawn from many sources, including contemporary memoirs, diaries, and numerous letters by and about Madame Calderón. Sometimes her trenchant commentary on people and places flared into newspaper controversy. From all that can be discovered about her, she emerges as a person of high abilities, energy, and nerve. In addition to the spirited woman at the center of the story, there are also her extraordinary family and a cast of memorable minor characters.