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José Murilo de Carvalho's The Construction of Order and The Theater of Shadows are true landmarks, indispensable for the vigor and acuity of their critical analyses of Brazil's political elites in the 19th century.
José Murilo also sheds new light on the Brazilian Empire, its ills, and follies. Published here together, the collected texts were presented by the author as a doctoral thesis at Stanford University in December 1974. The first part was released in 1980 under the title * The Construction of Order: The Imperial Political Elite *. The second and final part was titled *Shadow Theater: Imperial Politics * and was first published in 1988. This edition returns this long-out-of-print volume to readers, while maintaining, from an editorial standpoint, the organic nature of the work, allowing a whole new generation of historians, social scientists, and readers in general to access a fundamental work for understanding contemporary Brazil.
José Murilo de Carvalho uses theatrical metaphor to characterize the Brazilian Empire, following the observations of Joaquim Nabuco and Ferreira Vianna. Thus, he offers a unique perspective for rereading this book, suggesting a reflection that takes as a reference both the text itself and something behind the scenes: its place in the author's work and in the debates that shape Brazilian historiography.
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