Originally published in 1936, *The Light in the Underground* is a highly introspective work that reveals the author's obsession with death. Lúcio Cardoso's third book, it marked a departure from his previous works. A psychological novel, this depicts a Lúcio Cardoso despairing over the inevitability of death and the need to believe in another existence, a life in another time and dimension. This Catholic approach, however, conflicted with his revulsion for Minas Gerais traditionalism. Mário de Andrade went so far as to say: "Your book is a powerful one. I fully understood its purpose of restoring the spiritual within the materialistic romance literature we are currently producing in Brazil. God has moved again upon the face of the waters." *The Light in the Underground* deals with the madness that befalls a couple, Madalena and Pedro, after the arrival of their new maid, Emanuela, who is sought after by her boss and his brother-in-law, Bernardo. The arrival of Madalena's mother-in-law, Adélia, intensifies the conflicts. A plot where what matters is the feeling that reality is the darkness of an underground in which we see everything in a confused and distorted way.
