A fem­i­nist Shake­speare in Love reimag­ined for Cer­vantes, acclaimed jour­nal­ist Ana Veciana-Suarez’s lush his­tor­i­cal romance is per­fect for fans of Marie Bene­dict and Geral­dine Brooks.

Dolça, mis­tress, muse, and a life­long love of Miguel de Cer­vantes de Corti­nas, paints her sto­ry against the rich back­drop of Spain as she trav­els from Barcelona to Madrid at the behest of her dying paramour.

Young Dolça was besot­ted with the dash­ing author from their first meet­ing. Despite Miguel’s entreaties, Dolça, with her love of lux­u­ry and her devo­tion to her art, refused to upend her life for him, although she always wel­comed his atten­tions on her own terms. How­ev­er, when Miguel ren­ders her as the low­ly Dul­cinea in his great Quixote, cre­at­ing a scan­dal and reveal­ing their asso­ci­a­tion, he com­mits an unfor­giv­able offense and their decades-long affin­i­ty is sev­ered until he reach­es out to her one last time.