What follows is a tale of political intrigue and revolutionary violence as Prince Alicia tries to get her beloved child back. While Emperor Maximilian heads down to his jungle retreat in Cuernavaca to explore the region’s botanical species (a modern equivalent of Texas brush-clearing one could say), Benito Juárez and his revolutionary partisans lead an insurgency in northern Mexico. Meanwhile, the triumphant Union stages troops on the Mexico-Texas border and is ready to strike. The United States was victorious in 1848, and lightning could strike a second time.
The political details are convoluted, but C.M. Mayo brings the story to life. Taking a few creative liberties, she captures the atmosphere of Second Empire Mexico in the words, culture, language, and cuisine. We enter the minds of Emperor Maximilian, Empress Carlota, Princess Alicia, and many others, including cooks, diplomats, and revolutionaries. Obscure history has never been so interesting. One can get a nicely summarized version of events by scanning the Wikipedia entry. That is far less fun than reading this book. In the Last Prince of the Mexican Empire, one will encounter a nation divided by dynastic splendor and revolutionary struggle, families sundered and ideals curdled by poor planning and political corruption. There’s even a little bit about pirates.
The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire reads like a paleo-prequel to Bolaño’s 2666, a timely meditation on a violent, beautiful land and a people struggling for peace and happiness.
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