Who Would Have Thought It? (Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage)

Who Would Have Thought It? is a historical romance which engages the dominant myths about nationality, race and gender prevalent in society in the U.S. prior to and during the Civil War. The narrative follows a young Mexican girl as she is delivered from Indian captivity in the Southwest and comes to live in the household of a New England family. Culture and perspectives on national history and identity clash in the face of the dominant society's opportunism and hypocrisy. This early Hispanic historical romance, originally published in 1872, indicts the racism that was so prevalent in the 19th century.
As in her first novel, The Squatter and the Don, Ruiz de Burton reserves critical barbs for corruption in government and United States expansionism under the doctrine of Manifest Destiny. However, it is the recasting of the conventional novel of domesticity that Who Would Have Thought It? also addresses the disenfranchisement of women. Ruiz de Burton's deft character portrayals and satirical style make for a highly readable and enjoyable novel.