A historical romance with an activist heart, The Squatter and the Don is an impassioned critique of the United States's mistreatment and marginalization of Mexicans after the Mexican-American war and the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo.

Set in California, The Squatter and the Don is a historical romance that explores America's 19th century territorial expansion into the Southwest and the repercussions this had on the native Californios. Centering on two families--the Alamars of the landed Mexican gentry, and the Darrells, the wealthy New England "squatters" who contest the Alamars' right to their land, Ruiz de Burton's most famous work is simultaneously a romance populated by appealing characters and also a blunt critique of America's policies and values.

Following in the tradition of Romeo and Juliet, Clarence Darrell, the young, liberal, enterprising son of William Darrell, falls in love with Don Mariano's bright, lovely daughter, setting the state for a romance that is deeply concerned with issues of race, privilege, and justice. Ruiz de Burton also focuses on the effects of the swift, powerful rise of corporate monopolies--such as the railroad trusts--their shocking influence in Washington, and their lack of concern for ordinary citizens deeply affected by their actions.

María Ampara Ruiz de Burton (1832-1895) was born into a prominent family in Baha, California. Her grandfather, Don José Manuel Ruiz, was Governor of Baha. At 16, during the Mexican-American war, the author met U.S. Army Captain Henry S. Burton. She married him in 1849, became a U.S. citizen and moved with him to Monterey, and then San Diego. The newly promoted Brigadier-General Burton of the Union Army died in the Civil War, leaving the author with 2 young children to raise. She spent years fighting legal battles to over lands that she and her husband had owned, battling squatters and government officials much like Don Mariano's family in The Squatter and the Don. Her business ventures included the cultivation of castor beans, and a failed cement manufacturing company. Ruiz de Burton's literary works included newspaper articles, a theatrical comedy of Don Quixote, and the novel, Who Would Have Thought It?