Tierra Del Fuego

Tierra del Fuego is a suspenseful seafaring tale in the tradition of Horatio Hornblower, enriched by a chilling psychological and cultural tale that probes deeply into human nature - one reminiscent of Heart of Darkness or Lord of the Flies. It is based on the true story of the Yamana Indian, Jemmy Button, parts of which are recorded in Chapter 10 of Charles Darwin's The Voyage of the Beagle. This novel explores Captain Robert Fitzroy's abduction of Jemmy Button from his home in Cape Horn and Fitzroy's attempt to "civilize" Button in England in order to return him to his country as a bearer of "enlightened society." The experiment leads to tragic consequences. Tierra del Fuego deals with European arrogance and exploitation without resorting to the cliche of the "Noble Savage."
The tale is told from the point of view of John William Guevera, an "outsider" with an English father and Argentinean mother. Guevera, living between those two worlds, is one of the few characters in the novel who can foresee the tragic consequences of the "experiment" and who can best understand Jemmy Button and the political machinery behind the curtain of "civilized society."

An outspoken human rights advocate, Sylvia Iparraguirre has already gained considerable fame in Argentina where she was involved in several magazine projects criticizing the military dictatorship in Argentina. Tierra del Fuego is her second novel. She has also published two collections of short stories, one of which, In the Winter of the Cities, won the Municipal Prize for Literature.

Hardie St. Martin currently lives in Barcelona. In his long and distinguished career as an editor and translator, he has translated Juan Gelman, Pablo Neruda, Miguel Hernandez, Blas de Otero, and others. He is the editor of Small Hours of the Night by Roque Dalton (Curbstone, 1996).