María Amparo Ruiz de Burton (1832-95) was the first writer of Mexican origin to write and publish English-language novels in the United States. Born in Baja California, Ruiz de Burton wrote two novels and a play, all deeply critical of the tensions embedded in race, gender, and social position. She would spend much of her life fighting to secure family land claims and won her last lawsuit posthumously, in 1942.

"The Squatter and the Don, like its author, has come out a survivor,” notes Ana Castillo in her Introduction. "The fact that it has resurfaced after more than a century from its original publication is a testimony to its worthiness.” Inviting comparison to Uncle Tom's Cabin, María Amparo Ruiz de Burton's illuminating political novel is also an engaging historical romance. Set in San Diego shortly after the United States' annexation of California and written from the point of view of a native Californio, the story centers on two families: the Alamars of the landed Mexican gentry, and the Darrells, transplanted New Englanders-and their tumultuous struggles over property, social status, and personal integrity.
This Modern Library Paperback Classic is set from the first edition of 1885.
Ana Castillo is a poet, essayist, and novelist whose works include the recent poetry collection I Ask the Impossible and the novel Peel My Love Like an Onion. She lives in Chicago and teaches at DePaul University.