Amelia Francasci

She belonged to the country's ruling class, and her skills, literary work, and position in public life marked her as a cultured woman.

[8] Many of her books took on an innovative autobiographical and introspective tone, including Recuerdos e impresiones: historia de una novella.

[2][9] Contemporary critics charged her with failing to write stories set in her native country, opting instead for distant locations such as Madrid.

[2][5] After remaining stubbornly single until age 36,[10] in 1886 she married Rafael María Leyba Amarante, who was 11 years her junior.

[1] Though much of her correspondence was lost in 1930 Dominican Republic hurricane,[10] she left behind a great many love letters addressed to the French author Pierre Loti, though it is disputed whether her epistolary relationship with the faraway writer was a cover for another romance.