Feminist and Abolitionist
The Story of Emilia Casanova
Virginia Sánchez Casanova
(Piñata Books – paperback)
This important new addition to Arte Público’s “Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage” series is aimed at young adult readers and is told in first person as a fictionalized historical memoir. Feminist and Abolitionist tells the story of a woman who was born into an elite, slave-holding family in Cuba in 1832 but spent much of her adult life in New York City in the mid-19th century and later. There, Emilia Casanova became involved in promoting Cuban independence from Spain. She created the first women’s political organization dedicated to supporting the rebel cause during what was known as Cuba’s Ten Years’ War. She also became involved in campaigns to free American slaves. And she smuggled anti-Spain documents into Cuba in 1857 and spread seeds of insubordination until she and her family were forced to flee to the U.S.
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