THE GOVERNING WOMEN

A sweeping historical novel that reveals the unseen yet decisive role played by women—and by Spain—in the making of the United States.
They did not appear in official portraits. They did not sign laws.
They did not wear uniforms. But they decided everything.
In the waning years of the 18th century, in New Orleans, a silent plot was taking shape—one that would help make the independence of the United States possible. In a land marked by empires dividing up power behind the backs of its inhabitants,sisters Isabel and Felícitas Saint-Maxent are raised not to obey,
but to rule. In drawing rooms, amid embroidery and silences, a web of alliances, secrets, and decisions is woven that will change the fate of two continents.
Years later, a granddaughter discovers that her family’s history is not the one she was told. There were hidden letters,unthinkable decisions, espionage, and betrayals made all the more painful by their silence. And behind every diplomatic gesture, a battle was being fought.
The Governing Women, set between cosmopolitan New Orleans and elegant Málaga, is a sweeping novel about women who knew how to hold an empire together from the shadows. A powerful,delicate, and profound saga about what it means to protect your own... even when the world erases you from the story.