The Other Life of Mary English
Reviewed By Janet Mawdesley September 23, 2026
Author GD Harper
Distributor: Amazon
ISBN: 978-1739677855
Publisher: Ginger Cat
Release Date: August 31, 2026
YouTube:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gdharperauthor/
X Formally Twitter: https://x.com/gingercatpublis
How two remarkable women changed the course of South American history
Mary English was a remarkable woman during a time when women were considered of limited intelligence, suitable only for the marriage bed, running a household and entertaining.
Finding herself in a scandalous position, married to a bigamist, James Delany, she had a child to this man and is now a Widow. Moving to London to ensure her beloved daughter was not tainted by the scandal, she met and married General James Englis before moving to Venezuela. Having recently buried her husband in Venezuela, she returns to London to bury her father and rebuild the bonds with her now teenage daughter Eliza. It is June 1822.
She has a business venture she wishes to discuss with Barclays Bank and is determined to push through her ideas, return to Venezuela and commence business selling good to the wealthy in the area; the women craving for choice in material, silks and other items beloved of wealthy families.
Manuela Saenz, Socialist and freedom fighter is reluctantly married to Englishman James Thorne, a man her father had chosen for her. She is trying to reclaim her rightful heritage and has been in Lima arranging documents to this effect. It is June 1822.
Now she is in Quito, restless and bored with her life. Simon Bolivar, ‘el Liberator’ is due to arrive in town and a parade is being held to honour a man who is a fearless warrior and insatiable lover, if gossip correct. Manuela decides she must meet this man and if possible, become his lover, if only for a night tor two.
Two women, both determined to make a difference, one as a merchant and the other as a freedom fighter, became friends, often faced with appalling challenges and decisions, often in danger, both in their own way, going on to help shape what was then the very young country of Venezuela.
Although The Other life of Mary English is a work of fiction the historic background which has been well research has created a wonderful, colourful tapestry upon which to set the lives of two women, who through their own choices, led remarkable lives.
Simon Bolivar was a charismatic man who changed history, Manuela eventually became the woman who walked by his side, his confident, lover and ‘General’. Mary English became a lifelong friend of Manuela’s, a woman who dared to be different going on to establish an excellent commercial trade between Great Britain and Venezuela.
Entertaining and enjoyable The Other life of Mary English is an epic voyage into a world that is almost forgotten, complete with the historic notes and pictures which adds reality to the story that words fail to deliver. Both stunning women, over 400 letters have stored in the Mary English Archives in the British Library and are a considered a rich source of information in regard to the events that did occur in Columbia during those halcyon years.