 Cover of volume 1 in the first edition (1888) |
|
| Author | José Maria Eça de Queirós |
|---|---|
| Original title | Os Maias |
| Translator | Patricia McGowen Pinheiro Ann Stevens |
| Country | Portugal |
| Language | Portuguese |
| Publisher | Livraria Internacional de Ernesto Chardron, Lugan e Genelioux |
| Publication date | 1888 |
| Published in English | 1965 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 458pp (Vol. 1) 532pp (Vol. 2) |
Os Maias: episodios da vida romantica ("The Maias", Maia being the name of a fictional family, although some episodes fit into the history of the real Maya family) is a realist novel by the Portuguese author José Maria Eça de Queirós, also known under the old-fashioned spelling Eça de Queiroz. As early as 1878, while serving in the Portuguese consulate at Newcastle upon Tyne, Eça had at least given a name to this book and had begun work on it. It was largely written during his later residence in Bristol, and was first published in 1888.
Film, TV and theatrical adaptations
In 2001 Rede Globo produced their acclaimed adaptation of Os Maias (including some elements from Eça's short novel A Relíquia, "The Relic") as a short soap-opera type serial in 40 chapters, which was shown from Tuesday to Friday during a ten week period. It starred a very select group of Brazilian actors, most of them with long careers on TV, theatre and cinema. The screenplay was adapted by the renowned soap opera writer Maria Adelaide Amaral and directed by Luiz Fernando Carvalho. This is considered one of the most outstanding Globo productions in terms of photographic and overall artistic quality, but failed miserably, with low television ratings (often lower than than a 9% audience share).
Other adaptations
Paula Rego painted a series of pastels, inspired by this novel, which have been exhibited in London.
