Considered to be the first Mexican-American author and the first Mexican-American author to write in English (Who Would Have Thought It? 1872), Maria Amparo was born to an aristocratic family in La Paz, Baja California, but hungered for a larger life. During the Mexican-American War (1845-1848), 15-year old Maria Amparo experienced the invasion of her town by American troops led by dashing U.S. Army Captain Henry Burton, and saw her chance. Burton was smitten; Maria Amparo promptly refused to go through with her arranged marriage to a wealthy older