Mariquina Manuscript: a Saturnino Ximénez novel

A Mystery of Conscience and Empire

1874. Exiled from Spain for his youthful idealism, Sadurní Enrich arrives in Manila seeking redemption through honest journalism. But the Spanish colony is a place where words are policed as fiercely as borders. Censorship is absolute, and whispers of rebellion linger after the execution of the three priests known as Gomburza.

When Sadurní stumbles upon a legal dispute involving an obscure Jesuit manuscript and a forgotten hacienda in the valley of Mariquina, he believes he has found the subject for a harmless historical article. Instead, he uncovers the traces of a conspiracy centuries in the making-a secret that could rewrite the story of the islands and expose the moral rot at the heart of the empire.

Pursued by the colonial authorities and aided only by an unassuming village woman, a skeptical English merchant, and an Augustinian scholar, Sadurní must decide what kind of truth he is willing to defend-and at what cost.

Meticulously researched and beautifully written, The Mariquina Manuscript combines the moral urgency of Louis de Bernières with the intricate intrigue of Arturo Pérez-Reverte. A literary mystery where faith, power, and history collide in the last outpost of a fading empire.