Lone Star Book Blog Tour: Before the Alamo: A Tejana’s Story by Florence Byham Weinberg (Review and Giveaway)

BEFORE THE ALAMO:
A Tejana’s Story
by
FLORENCE BYHAM WEINBERG
Genre: Historical Fiction / Texas History 
Publisher: Maywood House
Date of Publication: September 17, 2021
Number of Pages: 296 pages
Scroll down for Giveaway!

Emilia Altamirano, half Otomí Indian, half pure Spanish, is born in 1814, the year after the Battle of the Medina River, where her father fought as an officer in the Mexican Royalist Army. She grows up in Bexar de San Antonio unacknowledged by her father, raised by her Otomí Indian mother, and “adopted” as an unofficial ward by José Antonio Navarro, hero of the Texas fight for independence from Mexico. She learns to read, write, and acts as a page for the Ayuntamiento (City Council). She learns nursing during a cholera epidemic and later tends the wounded on both sides during and after the Battle of the Alamo. She survives, but as a Tejana, Spanish-speaking, and a loyal citizen of Mexico, she faces an uncertain future.

PRAISE FOR BEFORE THE ALAMO:
“Yesterday, I finished Before the Alamo, figuratively gasping for breath…Thank you for a joyful experience, so helpful in this time of disillusion and anxiety.” – reader Marti Nodine

“She’ll have to develop callouses on her soul, if she’s to get on in this world.”

Before the Alamo by Florence Byham Weinberg is a gritty tale about a woman and her daughter in San Antonio de Béxar before the Alamo became the site of that infamous bloody battle that we are all told to remember. The journey in this story for both Maria and her daughter, Emelia, starts in 1814 and goes to the battle’s aftermath in 1836. This journey includes beauty and affection among an abundance of hardship, prejudice, violence, and death. Emelia carries the shame of her illegitimate birth and the scorn of her natural father, but, with her mother’s tender yet firm love, Emilia thrives by learning to read and write and by surviving so many of life’s cruel blows.

While Before the Alamo includes both fictional and historical figures and does envelop the cultural, political, and military aspects of the time, it is ultimately a love story between a mother and daughter and between that same daughter and her childhood friend, destined to be together come what may. Emilia and Dámaso are called mestizo and considered lower class, with their dark hair and skin, definitely unlike the fairer decedents from Spain. But they work hard and have the talent and determination that just might provide them with a leg up to a better life and maybe even a chance to marry, if only a series of misfortunes and tragedies along the way will let them.

“Life can set traps that can ruin a person forever.”

The author’s writing is both matter of fact and melodic, filling the pages with a story that will touch your heart, elicit ire at the many injustices, and leave you with an interesting fictional view of life before, during, and after the Battle of the Alamo. This perspective of the years leading up to such a turbulent time is a true gift from the author because it opens up the possibilities of events that Texas history books may not offer (my Texas History classes were so many years ago). The typical focus is always on the Alamo, but what was life like in the small mission town before 1836? What were the everyday conflicts, struggles, and joys among the people in San Antonio de Béxar? The author opens up that window, unfolding a story that is both riveting and infuriating as Maria and Emilia navigate the male-dominated landscape, where people, including priests, accuse women of provoking men to abuse them because they are “daughters of Eve.” Any story that invokes strong emotion, such as anger and grief, and subsequent discussion is a valuable one, and all readers can benefit from reading about the severity of the times, even in a work of fiction. Among the thorns in Beyond the Alamo, however, is love, friendship, devotion, and hope, with the author juxtaposing everything in such an extraordinary story with expert equanimity. Well done!

Note: Take the time to read the Author’s Note at the beginning that advises the reader to check out the list of characters (shows which ones are fictional and which ones are historical) at the end of the book as well as the Appendix, which has some important Texas history that will benefit you as you read. You’ll be glad you did.

Enter the giveaway below on or before December 20, 2021, for a chance to win some fabulous prizes.


I received a free copy of this book from Lone Star Book Blog Tours in exchange for my honest review.


Florence Byham Weinberg, born in Alamogordo, New Mexico, lived on a ranch as well as a farm and travelled with her military family during World War Two. After earning a Ph.D., she taught for 36 years in three universities. She published four scholarly books. Since retiring, she has written four books in the Pfefferkorn historical mystery series, three additional historical novels and one philosophical fantasy/thriller. She lives in San Antonio, loves cats, dogs, horses, and conversations with great-souled friends.
WEBSITE◆  AMAZONFACEBOOK

GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!
Grand Prize winner gets a signed copy of Before the Alamo and Apache Lance, Franciscan Cross;
2nd & 3rd winners get a signed copy of Before the Alamo.
(US only; ends midnight, CST, 12/20/21)

FOR DIRECT LINKS TO EACH POST ON THIS TOUR, UPDATED DAILY, 
or visit the blogs directly:

12/13/21

Excerpt

Chapter
Break Book Blog

12/13/21

Review

The Clueless Gent

12/13/21

BONUS Promo

Hall Ways Blog

12/14/21

Excerpt

StoreyBook Reviews

12/14/21

Review

It’s Not All Gravy

12/14/21

BONUS Promo

LSBBT Blog

12/15/21

Author Interview

All the Ups and Downs

12/15/21

Review

The Plain-Spoken Pen

12/16/21

Deleted Scene

Missus Gonzo

12/16/21

Review

The Book’s Delight

12/17/21

Author Interview

The
Page Unbound

12/17/21

Review

Reading
by Moonlight

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