One woman’s struggle for acceptance in colonial Jamaica as she becomes mother to a new nation.

The island of Jamaica is poised to achieve nationhood and young Mariana arrives, fresh from England to take up her position as mistress of her husband’s estate and experiences the passion and pangs of giving birth to a nation.

The book ‘Mariana’ offers readers a glimpse into the lives of the title heroine, her husband Fernando, and their employees at a time when the worker in the British colony of Jamaica is treated little better than a slave. The workers attempt to assert their independence but Mariana will have none of it. The lessons she eventually learns about race and equality and her contribution to “this tropical island where people loved and hated with the same passion” represent the experience of the many who participated in the colonial experience.

This short novel of 118 pages is a synopsis of the history of Jamaica as seen through the eyes of Mariana and later her son, Samuel, who struggles with his need to support his mother while fighting for the rights of the worker. While not a historical novel, events in the history of Jamaica are included for the purpose of interest and to remind readers of the struggles that were an integral part of the creation of the island nation.

Books by Elzah is a small press located in Windsor, Connecticut. It publishes books by new writers, focusing on Caribbean/West Indian authors. Owner Vangella Buchanan published with the Sunday Gleaner in the early 1980s and contributes stories to various newspapers and magazines, using the pseudonym Vjange Hazle. Books by Elzah published its first title ‘Country Gal a Foreign’ in 2003. ‘Mariana’ can be ordered online at www.jambridge.net for $14.99USD.

If you would like more information or wish to schedule an interview with Vjange Hazle, please call Vangella Buchanan at (860) 830-8006 or email vhazle@kultureshak.com.