José Maria Eça de Queirós Books

This novel is set in Leiria, a provincial cathedral in which the hypocrisies of churchmen were not far to seek. Father Amaro, a young man like the author himself, with a priestly rather than a diplomatic vocation, falls into a relationship with a woman, and their tragic story unfolds. schovat popis

England in the 1880s: the aristocracy stoically endures the tedium of country-bound weeks in winter, when fashion forbids their showing themselves in London. Lord Beaconsfield's death is mourned - and a national myth is buried. The Times remains the watchdog of the English conscience. Abroad, John Bull is sweetly reasonable; Irish rebels must not be allowed to incommode English landlords; Egyptian rebels must by taught to respect their established rulers (and of course, British interests must be safeguarded). Meanwhile, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, an obscure young Portuguese consul, Eca de Queiros, writes regular letters to his Brazilian readers, giving a dry, gently amused, if not wholly impartial, account of these and other English activities. If his facts are sometimes a shade garbled, ad his irony occasionally cruel, his descriptions of people, places and events are always lively and vigorous. He shows a propoensity for blowing raspberries at our more venerable institutions - the Times he finds incessently amusing - but, read as a corrective to the British propoganda of the period, "Letter from England" provide a vivid glimpse of late-Victorian Britain as an eminently civilized European would have seen it.

Carlos, heir to a great fortune, becomes a doctor and drifts along spending time at the theater, reading, and having affairs, until he falls deeply in love but has to hide a terrible secret.

The Tragedy of the Street of Flowers was discovered amongst the author's papers after his death, and was only published in Portugal in 1980. This is the first English translation, and its publication is timed to coincide with the centenary of Eca's death." "One night at the theatre, Vitor da Silva, a young law graduate, sees a strikingly beautiful Genoveva de Molineux. She claims to have been born in Madeira and to have lived for many years in Paris. The truth about her past gradually begins to surface, as does the terrible secret that lies behind the overwhelming mutual attraction between her and Vitor. Eca brilliantly dissects a world in which only surface counts, providing the reader with a vivid and gripping portrayal of a society and class consumed by hypocrisy, greed and materialism."--

Teodorico Raposo, the novel's anti-hero, is a master of deceit, one minute feigning devotion to his rich, pious aunt in order to inherit her money; the next, indulging in debauchery. Spurred on by the desire to please his aunt, and in order to get away from his unfaithful mistress, Teodorico embarks on a journey to the Holy Land in search of a holy relic. The resulting fiasco is a masterpiece of comic irony as religious bigotry and personal greed are mercilessly ridiculed.

Jacinto was born and brought up in Paris and has never visited Portugal. He lives in a mansion crammed with books and with all the latest gadgets, for he believes that human happiness depends on a combination of erudition and the most sophisticated of mechanical aids. When he travels to his estate in Portugal, he discovers that none of the boxes and crates he has despatched from Paris have arrived. How will he survive without civilisation's essential comforts?

A sweeping family saga set in rural Portugal in the 19th century, this novel explores the themes of love, betrayal, and redemption against a backdrop of political upheaval. The story centers on the beautiful and headstrong Clara, who is torn between her love for the nobleman João da Ega and her duty to marry the powerful landowner Manuel Pinheiro. With vivid descriptions of the Portuguese countryside and a deft touch for characterisation, Eça de Queirós illuminates the complex motivations that drive human behaviour.