Life in Mexico

Life in Mexico is a 19th-century travel account about the life, culture, and landscape of Mexico, written during Scottish writer Fanny Calderon de la Barca's sojourn in Mexico from October 1839 to February 1842. It was published in 1843 by historian William Hickling Prescott.

The account itself, Life in Mexico, consists of 54 letters Fanny Calderón wrote during her sojourn in Mexico from October 1839 to February 1842. In terms of content, Calderón’s book includes her personal experiences of Mexico from the standpoint of an , the wife of a Spanish diplomat, a position that allowed her unique immersion into Mexican culture. Her account covers both public and private life, although only the latter was thought to be the domain of women writers, as well as the politics, people, and landscape of Mexico.

Originally, Calderón's letters were not intended for publication, but her friend, historian William Hickling Prescott, urged her to publish her writings into a travel book. With Prescott’s instrumental role in the publication of Life in Mexico, the credibility and authenticity of her account was elevated beyond that of an ordinary female travel narrative. Prescott praised her book for its ethnographical and historiographical significance, and even included some of her observations in his own work, The Conquest of Mexico, citing Calderón as the “most delightful of modern travelers”. His book was better received than Calderón’s, which came under Mexican scrutiny.

Her book was first published in English in 1843 in Boston by Prescott, and in London by Prescott’s friend, Charles Dickens, having been most likely intended for a “broad English-speaking” audience.

Life in Mexico provides insights on the inner social workings of Mexico, including class distinctions of Mexican women, perspectives on the Indians, and the chaotic political climate of the time and rising nationalism. During her time in Mexico, Calderón observed and recorded two revolutions, as she was caught in the political turmoil of the recently independent nation involving conflict between the liberal federalists and conservative centralists.

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