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María Amparo Ruiz De Burton

The Squatter and the Don

María Amparo Ruiz De BurtonFiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1885

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Book Brief

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María Amparo Ruiz De Burton

The Squatter and the Don

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1885
Book Details
Pages

381

Format

Novel • Fiction

Setting

California • 1870s

Publication Year

1885

Audience

Adult

Recommended Reading Age

18+ years

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Super Short Summary

In The Squatter and the Don by María Amparo Ruiz De Burton, William Darrell moves to San Diego in 1872 to legally settle contentious lands, while Don Mariano Alamar fights to protect his property from squatters; amid legal and ethical disputes, their families become intertwined through romances and financial struggles, highlighting the broader social and political challenges faced by Californios post-Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. References to racist policies, rhetoric, violence (including allusions to chattel enslavement), sexist attitudes, animal death, gun violence, and possible death by suicide are present in the book.

Romantic

Melancholic

Contemplative

Inspirational

Bittersweet

Reviews & Readership

3.8

485 ratings

38%

Loved it

37%

Mixed feelings

26%

Not a fan

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Review Roundup

The Squatter and the Don by María Amparo Ruiz De Burton is widely praised for its insightful depiction of social and racial tensions in post-Mexican-American War California. Reviewers commend its historical relevance and engaging narrative but note its occasional melodramatic tone and uneven pacing. Overall, it remains a significant work in American literature.

Who should read this

Who Should Read The Squatter and the Don?

Readers who appreciate The Squatter and the Don by María Amparo Ruiz de Burton will enjoy deeply layered historical fiction with themes of identity, land rights, and cultural conflict. Fans of The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck and One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez will find this novel similarly engaging.

3.8

485 ratings

38%

Loved it

37%

Mixed feelings

26%

Not a fan

Book Details
Pages

381

Format

Novel • Fiction

Setting

California • 1870s

Publication Year

1885

Audience

Adult

Recommended Reading Age

18+ years

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