Résumé
Résumé de Cecilia Valdés, ou La Colline de l’Ange
À qui s’adresse-t-il ?
You will love this if you enjoy sweeping historical fiction, tangled families, forbidden romance, and vivid pictures of Caribbean city life, music, dress and the sugar world of old Cuba.
De quoi parle ce livre ?
In 1812 Havana, a baby girl is passed through a hatch at the Royal Foundling Home so she can carry a respectable name. Cirilo Villaverde, a Cuban writer who finished this novel in exile, follows her into a beautiful, restless youth. You get a crowded portrait of a slave society: its dances, drawing rooms and sugar mills, and the secret of birth that binds two families. First, a night of fever and guilt.
Dans ce résumé
- 1A baby sent through the foundling hatchFree
- 2A beautiful street girl grows up unguarded
- 3A dance where color and class collide
- 4The Gamboa house and the price of its wealth
- 5Havana shown from its tailor shops and ballrooms
- 6Jealousy, schemes and a fight in the dark
- 7Christmas at the sugar mill of La Tinaja
- 8A grandmother fears for two generations
- 9What the novel is really about, and how it is told
Point clé 1 sur 9
A baby sent through the foundling hatch
The novel opens at dusk in November 1812. A tall gentleman leaves a closed carriage on San Juan de Dios Alley in Havana and taps at a small house. A mulatto woman named Josefa lets him in and tells him that her young daughter Charo is dying of grief, because her newborn girl has been taken away.
In the back room, the feverish mother wakes in terror, sure that the Virgin is carrying her child to heaven. When she sees the stranger, she calls him a thief and an executioner. He does not defend himself. He takes her pulse like a doctor, orders broth and ether, and promises she will see her daughter tomorrow.
We learn that the baby went through the Royal Foundling Home so she could be baptized with the surname Valdés. Josefa tattooed a blue crescent on the child's shoulder so she could be found again. The man leaves muttering that he alone is to blame, and the whole book grows from this night.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Who’s who
- Cecilia Valdés
- Cecilia is a beautiful young woman of mixed race whose bond with Leonardo challenges Havana's social rules.
- Leonardo Gamboa
- Leonardo is the spoiled son of a wealthy white family, drawn to Cecilia despite his parents' expectations.
- Cándido Gamboa
- Cándido is Leonardo's Spanish-born father, a merchant whose wealth and family standing depend partly on the slave trade.
- Rosa Gamboa
- Rosa is Leonardo's mother, managing a comfortable household and hoping her son will make a socially suitable marriage.
- Isabel Ilincheta
- Isabel is a young woman of good standing whom Leonardo's family considers a suitable match for their son.
- José Dolores Pimienta
- José Dolores Pimienta is a skilled man in Cecilia's circle, belonging to Havana's free community of color.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 192,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 12 h 50 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 13 other languages
Questions about Cecilia Valdés, ou La Colline de l’Ange
What is Cecilia Valdés about?
It follows Cecilia, a beautiful young woman of mixed race in 1830s Havana, and her love for Leonardo Gamboa, the son of a rich slave trader. Family secrets, class and slavery shape every step.
Is Cecilia Valdés based on a true story?
It is fiction, but the author says he drew many characters from real people and kept real names. Historical figures such as Captain General Vives and the officer Tondá also appear.
Who is Cecilia Valdés's father?
Cecilia does not know who her father is. A powerful white man arranges her baptism and support from the shadows.
What does the title The Angel's Hill mean?
The Angel's Hill is a rise in Havana with the church of the Holy Guardian Angel. Cecilia grows up in the neighborhood around it, and the church becomes the setting for key scenes.
What is the main message of Cecilia Valdés?
The book shows how slavery and racial prejudice poison love, family and conscience in Cuba. The author wants readers to see that society as it truly was and to question its cruelty.