Born Frances Erskine Inglis and later married to Don Angel Calderón de la Barca, she became famous after adopting the surname of her husband, the prime minister plenipotentiary of Spain in Mexico, and having traveled to our country. It was in that city that she married Calderón de la Barca.
Born Frances Erskine Inglis and later married to Don Angel Calderón de la Barca, she became famous after having adopted the surname of her husband, the prime minister plenipotentiary of Spain in Mexico, and having traveled to our country. It was in that city that she married Calderón de la Barca.
She arrived in Mexico with him at the end of December 1839 and remained in the country until January 1842. During that time, Madame Calderón de la Barca maintained a copious correspondence with her family, which helped her to publish a remarkable book, composed of fifty-four letters, entitled Life in Mexico during a residence of two years in that country, which was also published in London with a short preface by Prescott.
This book occupies an outstanding place in the extensive list of books that we have called "trips" or "of travelers in Mexico" and that fall within the framework of the books of foreign writers that appeared between 1844 and 1860. It is titled, of course , Life in Mexico during a two-year residency in that country.
The merit of having been the first to present Madame Calderón to Spanish-speakers belongs to Don Manuel Romero de Terreros, Marquis of San Francisco, he published and was in charge of the first Spanish translation of Life in Mexico…, made by Don Enrique Martínez Sobral, from the Royal Spanish Academy in 1920. Before and after the translation, many Mexican thinkers, critics and personalities gave their opinion on his work in a good or bad way. To Don Manuel Toussaint, for example, the book seemed "the most detailed and suggestive description of our country"; Manuel Payno thinks that his letters are nothing more than “satires” and Altamirano, passionate, writes that “After (Humboldt) almost all the writers have slandered us, from Löwerstern and Mrs. Calderón de la Barca, to the writers of Maximilian's court ”.
However, the notes about her are few, except for the one who made her a notable Yucatecan, Justo Sierra O'Reilly, who writes in his Diary, during a stay in Washington, one of the few scenes that are recorded about her: “On the first visit that I had the honor of paying Don Angel, he introduced me to Mrs. Calderón, his wife. Madama Calderón was already known to me as a writer, because I had read a book of hers on Mexico, written with enough talent and grace, although some of her opinions did not seem very fair. Madama Calderón received me with the courtesy and kindness that are characteristic of her and make her social interaction pleasant. (…) Their connection was very recent when Don Angel was transferred to Mexico in his capacity as plenipotentiary minister and Madama Calderón was in a position to give some hints uploaded to the picture that she proposed to draw from those impressions. I do not know if he has regretted certain blows given in that painting of Mexico; what I can say is that he does not like allusions to his book very much, and avoids the opportunity to talk about it. Madama Calderón belongs to the episcopal communion; And although her husband's discretion and prudence never allowed him to direct the slightest observation on this, not even when Don Angel was going through the bitter trance (his words are literal) of accompanying her on Sundays to the door of the Protestant church, and then going he to the Catholic; Yet the good lady was undoubtedly convinced of the Catholic truths, for shortly before my arrival in Washington she had accepted Roman Communion. Mr. Calderón de la Barca told me about this event with such sincere enthusiasm that it honored his heart and proved his true Catholicism. Madame Calderón is fluent in the main modern languages; he is exquisitely educated, and he was the soul of the brilliant society that met in his house. "
Regarding his physique, no one says a word, although everyone praises his genius, his intelligence and his exquisite education. The only portrait of her is the one illustrated on this page, a photograph taken in full maturity, with a face, without a doubt, very Scottish.
