Indian houses? In Asturias? What’s that all about, you might say.
The answer is simply that the so-called Casas Indianas were built in the late 19th Century by poor Asturians who’d made their fortunes in South America, then returned to their homeland to live.
Their new wealth not only gave them a better lifestyle, but benefitted the local economy and helped transform the rest of Spain.
Often these mansions lie in beautiful parkland. Many are open to the public, and once inside, more evidence of the returning immigrant’s wealth is visible in the lavish decor.
However, as a recent BBC documentary points out, ‘there is also a dark past behind how some gained their wealth, one that Spain is only now beginning to confront’ – the fact that some of these returning immigrants became rich through involvement in the slave trade.
For nearly a year, now, I’ve been lost in a post-Covid brain fog. It’s hard to explain – not like a loss of memory, where words escape you. Just a blur, a sense of floating around in a daze.
Some days are better than others. A good night’s sleep helps, or time to relax and take things easy. But that’s hard to achieve when day-to-day necessities shoot up like weeds all around to choke you – documents to renew, appointments to keep, a husband with multiple illnesses who needs constant care.
Writing is harder, too. Not so much the inspiration, or even the clarity to put across what you want to convey, but the bothersome business of trying to make what you write available for others to read.
That’s why it’s taken me so long to bring out my second novel, Between Two Shores. I finished it months ago, but preparing it for publication has been an almost surmountable mountain of niggling tasks.
At last, though, it’s available on Amazon, in paperback or Kindle. I swore I’d never use that platform again, but the vague familiarity of its system made it easier than other outlets.
Bored with her job and scarred by a bad relationship, headstrong young Australian Ellie is devastated when her English-born father dies. But he’s left her a challenge – a book, a postcard and a photo of a mysterious little girl. Suspecting she’s his, Ellie throws in her job and travels to England to investigate. Days before leaving, she falls for Josh, a film-maker, but is infuriated by his rigid beliefs.
Set in NSW and southern England, and spanning the 1930s to the present, Ellie’s quest for the truth interweaves with the story of her grandparents, charismatic Jack and shy but feisty Lillian, whose struggles bring challenges of a very different kind. But it’s not until Ellie unravels the family secrets that she discovers the far-reaching impact one person’s actions can have on others — including herself.
If you read it, I hope you’ll enjoy it. And please take time to write a review, so that others can enjoy it, too.
Ruth Larrea Author 