Fonseca: A Novel
Named a Top 10 Historical Fiction Book of 2025 by the New York Times Book Review
Named a Best Book of the Year by Esquire, Kirkus, and the Chicago Tribune Biblioracle
Named a Best Historical Fiction Book and Best Audio Book of the Year by Bookpage
A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice
“Kane’s remarkable excavation of this interlude, including real letters from Valpy, drips with juicy conflict and detail.” —Los Angeles Times
“A fable with heart and a searching investigation into what makes a marriage endure.” —Boston Globe
“A marvel of sharp concision.” —Wall Street Journal
“A daring book . . . fresh and beautiful.” —Chicago Tribune
The story acclaimed English author Penelope Fitzgerald never wrote, of her real-life journey to Mexico with her son in search of a much-needed inheritance, by Jessica Francis Kane, bestselling author of Rules for Visiting
Penelope Fitzgerald’s charming husband is a struggling alcoholic, the London literary magazine they edit together is on the brink of bankruptcy, and she is pregnant with their third child. When she receives a mysterious letter dangling the possibility of an inheritance, Penelope sees a creative and practical lifeline that might save them. Based on Fitzgerald’s momentous 1952 trip to northern Mexico before she was famous, Jessica Francis Kane’s brilliantly imagined Fonseca is both a treasure hunt and a love story.
Blending history, biography, and fiction, Kane has created an enthralling world while telling a story about how far someone might go in pursuit of a dream.
Named a Best Book of the Year by Esquire, Kirkus, and the Chicago Tribune Biblioracle
Named a Best Historical Fiction Book and Best Audio Book of the Year by Bookpage
A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice
“Kane’s remarkable excavation of this interlude, including real letters from Valpy, drips with juicy conflict and detail.” —Los Angeles Times
“A fable with heart and a searching investigation into what makes a marriage endure.” —Boston Globe
“A marvel of sharp concision.” —Wall Street Journal
“A daring book . . . fresh and beautiful.” —Chicago Tribune
The story acclaimed English author Penelope Fitzgerald never wrote, of her real-life journey to Mexico with her son in search of a much-needed inheritance, by Jessica Francis Kane, bestselling author of Rules for Visiting
Penelope Fitzgerald’s charming husband is a struggling alcoholic, the London literary magazine they edit together is on the brink of bankruptcy, and she is pregnant with their third child. When she receives a mysterious letter dangling the possibility of an inheritance, Penelope sees a creative and practical lifeline that might save them. Based on Fitzgerald’s momentous 1952 trip to northern Mexico before she was famous, Jessica Francis Kane’s brilliantly imagined Fonseca is both a treasure hunt and a love story.
Blending history, biography, and fiction, Kane has created an enthralling world while telling a story about how far someone might go in pursuit of a dream.
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Community Reviews
Fonseca is an imaginative telling of a desperate time in Penelope Fitzgerald (an acclaimed English author) life. Penelope, in an effort to save her family business and lift her growing family out of poverty, travels from London to Mexico via a transatlantic ship, trains, and long bus rides. All the while hoping that she will become an heir to her distance relative's silver mine fortune.
Instead, she finds two petty tyrants driven by their wealth and fueled by their alcoholism, callously toying with people's lives. During her three-month visit, she falls in love, betrays a friend, plays a part in a death, disappoints her young son, and compromises her family values.
On the bright side, the food and cocktails in this book will make your mouth water and conjure up visions of Mexican-themed dinner parties or just cozying up with a hot cup of champurrado and a plate of traditional Mexican cookies.
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