Our lady of the night : a novel / Mayra Santos-Febres ; translated from Spanish by Ernesto Mestre-Reed

"Originally published in Spanish as Nuestra señora de la noche in Spain in 2006 by Espasa Calpe"--T.p. verso.

The epic story of the complex, sensual, tragic, and remarkable life of a legendary Puerto Rican madam born into poverty and then abandoned by her mother, Isabel "La Negra" Luberza blossoms into a supremely sensual young woman. Obsessed with attaining aristocratic status-armed with incredible physical presence, indomitable ambition, and keen intelligence-she meets Fernando Fornar s, the man who will forever change her life. With a parcel of land given to her by her rich, white married lover, Isabel transforms herself into a hard-edged and merciless businesswoman-abandoning her own newborn son to become Puerto Rico's most feared and respected madam, a collector of society's secrets, a queen of the notorious brothel that emerges as the island's true political and economic heart. Set against the rich backdrop of the Caribbean and the United States during the tumultuous years of World War II.