Maria de las Mercedes Santa Cruz y Cardenas de Jaruco

Maria de las Mercedes Santa Cruz y Montalvo, also known as Comtesse Merlin (1789 in Havana – 1852 in Paris), was a Cuban-born writer.

When fourteen years old she sailed with her parents for Spain, and finished her education in Madrid. In 1810, Santa Cruz y Montalvo married the French general, Antoine Christophe Merlin, and, in 1813 when the French troops left Spain, she went to Paris. There she soon became well known in French society and her home was the resort of persons eminent in science, literature, and art. In 1840 Santa Cruz y Montalvo made a visit to her native city, but in 1842 she returned again to her adopted country, where she had already obtained a reputation by her literary labors.