The Relic (Paperback)

Pocket edition of this work by one of the greatest Portuguese writers of all time.

Known for such important literary works as "O primo Basílio" (Prime Basilio) , "O crime do padre Amaro" (The Crime of Father Amaro) , and "A cidade e as serras" (The City and the Mountains) , Portuguese novelist Eça de Queirós's defining characteristic was his critique of bourgeois society. This is no different in "A relíquia" (The Relic ). The book could have been sad, moving, and anguished, but with Eça's genius, the protagonist Teodorico Raposo's misadventures, framed through the lens of roguery, become quite humorous.

As a child, the character had to learn the game of flattery to ensure his survival with Dona Patrocínio, his spinster aunt, pious and cruel—as are generally the case with characters marked by religious fanaticism in Eça's work. To fulfill his relative's wishes, Raposo sets out on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and from there must bring a holy relic that can cure his wife's illnesses and afflictions, which would grant him access to his aunt's inheritance. The relic is considered a representative of the Portuguese realist novel inspired by picaresque narrative.