Francisca Lewin is an acclaimed writer with an enormous talent for writing both fiction and non-fiction, and her prose style is fluid, rich and beautiful. Her subjects are almost always historically accurate, but sometimes the accounts may be historically inaccurate due to the complex relationship she maintained with her two step-sisters, Maria and Carolina, both of whom died young. Her most famous book, A Woman’s Guide to Love, was published in 1977, and was a kind of bible for women, offering them a glimpse of their past and future, as well as advice for a happy married life. The novel covers a range of topics including education, art, politics, literature, love, family, gardening, medicine, and banking.
As was the case with A Woman’s Guide to Love, Francisca’s writing offers an almost instantaneous gratification, as the reader is swept along in her charming world of mental fantasy and physical adventure. The majority of her stories center on one family or another, often weaving together many themes into a stream of consciousness tale. Her first collection, Rebel Girl, was simply amazing, a beautifully written historical romance about a young woman from the French Revolution. In these tales, the reader is introduced to many intriguing people and situations that add interest and depth to the stories, and she showcases her talent for developing characters and making the reader care about them, long after the story ends. All of her books are rich in style and charm, using vibrant colours and vivid language to create a sense of mystery and enchantment.
Francisca’s writing is truly amazing, and her ability to create vivid images and evocative phrases is unsurpassed. Her characters shine in their own right, and each character is given a unique name and biography. As with most writers, Francisca has a gift for building realistic characters and doing so in a way that makes them seem truly human. Her descriptions of the landscapes and locales are extraordinarily detailed, and her description of the people of the heights, combined with her use of highly charged romantic phrases, helps make each character more than just a name on a page.