Cork's queen of Paraguay

BIOGRAPHY: The Lives of Eliza LynchBy Michael Lillis and Ronan Fanning, Gill & Macmillan, 320pp. €24.99

THIS BOOK WAS made possible by the survival of the memory of a woman who was known in Paraguay as La Irlandesa. On a visit to the country, Michael Lillis became aware of his lack of knowledge of his fellow countrywoman, who had been declared a heroine of the South American country. Back in Ireland he searched for her story. The first book he read described her as one of "the world's wickedest women", a thief, a torturer and an assassin. This book sets out to dispel this as a myth and rehabilitate her reputation.

Eliza Lynch (1833-1886) was the offspring of a Protestant mother and a Catholic father who was a doctor in Co Cork. While Eliza was still a child her mother was widowed and left destitute. Eliza was married off at 16, with her mother’s consent. Detailed in this book is Eliza’s escape from this highly irregular marriage. She returned to her mother, now living in France. Moving in Parisian circles facilitated Eliza’s meeting a man who immediately took her for his mistress. This story is not unusual for a 19th-century woman who had beauty but neither social standing nor money. What makes Eliza Lynch a subject worthy of a biography is that she attracted the attention of the rich and powerful Francisco Solano López, son of the dictator of Paraguay.

It took a number of well-connected men to reconstruct this story. Lillis, a former diplomat and businessman, and Ronan Fanning, emeritus professor of modern Irish history at UCD, brought together scholars to search records in Ireland, France, Brazil, America and England for the making of this definitive biography. They are to be commended for citing each individual for his or her part in piecing together this intricate story.

This is not the first biography of the

woman who became known as the Queen of Paraguay. Her story has survived in many differing accounts, mostly written by her detractors. In more recent times she has been the subject of academic papers, plays and numerous works of fiction, including two award-winning novels published in South America. Irish readers will be familiar with Anne Enright's novel The Pleasure of Eliza Lynch. If you have read about her in fiction you owe it to her memory to now read her true story.

Writers who have fictionalised this story describe her as a prostitute. This book proves conclusively that she was neither a brothel-keeper nor a concubine with numerous lovers. But questions can still be raised about Eliza’s trading on her appearance – which may be seen as a form of prostitution.

When López brought his lover to his homeland, in 1855, she was already pregnant by him, yet he had no intention of making her his wife. In Paraguay female subservience was the norm: it was a culture where women had little status beyond their ability to gratify men. The authors refer to the huge numbers of unmarried mothers in the country and, specifically, to a group of them who worked as traders, known locally as “the golden combs”. Eliza sought out their company when she was excluded elsewhere. She chose only to entertain them, however, rather than to set up schools or instigate education programmes. She was no Eva Perón.

Over the next number of years Eliza gave birth to seven of López’s children. In addition to her, he had a number of other lovers, who also bore him numerous children. Eliza’s position as his favourite needed to be maintained at all costs. The authors cite her numerous pregnancies and her role as a mother as a reason for her lack of political influence, but surely this particular woman would do nothing that would encroach upon the dominance of her man and the hierarchy of the male world in which he lived.

In 1862, following his father’s death, López became president of the Republic of Paraguay. Within two years he had instigated the War of the Triple Alliance of 1864-1870 by declaring war on his neighbours. Eliza stayed at his side. Even as he was losing the war and setting up the Tribunals of Death (known as the Altars of Blood), she remained supportive. He accused countless people of being his enemies, even his mother and sisters. Only Eliza stayed free of accusation.

As outlined in this book, Eliza was not responsible for any atrocities but, rather, initiated acts of kindness, tending the wounded and setting up a hospital. She is recorded as interceding with her lover to save the lives of a number of people, but it seems to me that she did nothing that would affect her pre-eminent place in his affections.

Eliza displayed a strong instinct for survival. She could have escaped many times, according to the authors, who believe she stayed out of love for López. But surely, like many women in such relationships, she stayed out of fear rather than love. Also, it seems likely that she had much to gain by staying loyal to him, as she managed to be named as the sole beneficiary in his will. This was drafted in his final days, when his army was defeated and the Brazilian army was closing in.

Eliza, having received large sums from López during their relationship, had acquired vast tracts of lands during the war. She also siphoned off money to send abroad for safe keeping.

Following the death of López and her eldest son, she avoided being raped by the victorious Brazilian troops. She also managed to negotiate her release and those of her surviving children by proclaiming her British citizenship.

Her last years were spent in Europe, pursuing her monies through the courts, trying to obtain Lopez’s money in the Bank of England and endeavouring to release her land interests in Paraguay. To this end she returned to South America at great personal risk but was unsuccessful in recovering her assets.

The authors tell us that she was adored by the ordinary women of Paraguay. One wonders was this devotion based on her captivating ways rather than her character. Eliza seemed to care only for her personal wealth and status and that of her children, and nowhere does she seem to have had a social conscience concerning the people of her adopted home or how the land she acquired was obtained.

In 1961 Gen Stroessner, then dictator of Paraguay, made her a national hero, along with Francisco Solano López. This book is a fascinating account, meticulously researched, which proves that Eliza did not share Solano López’s vicious tendencies. As someone who has researched the lives of countless Irish heroines, it seems to me that Eliza left no real legacy to the people of Paraguay, and therefore does not warrant the status of national heroine. As with the pantheon of heroes in any country, such selections are often made by political motivations and sensibilities rather than real contributions.

Sinéad McCoole is currently curator of the exhibition Ireland's Newest National Treasure: The Jackie Clarke Library and Archives Unveiled,on show in Ballina, Co Mayo