The Relic
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Teodoric goes in search of a relic in the holy Land to please his aunt. Teodorico Raposo, the novel's anti-hero, is a master of deceit; one minute feigning devotion in front of 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, he 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.
Eca de Queiroz
Eca de Queiroz (1845-1900)is considered to be Portugal's greatest novelist. Dedalus has embarked on a project of making all his major works available in English in new translations by Margaret Jull Costa.
The Mandarin, The Relic, The Tragedy of the Street of Flowers, The Crime of Father Amaro, Cousin Bazilio, The Maias and The City and the Mountains, Alves & Co have so far been published.
Dedalus will publish the mystery of the Sintra Road in 2013.
More by Eca de Queiroz
Margaret Jull Costa
MARGARET JULL COSTA has been a translator of Spanish and Portuguese literature since 1987. Among the other authors she has translated are Paulo Coelho, Fernando Pessoa, José Saramago, Bernardo Atxaga and Javier Marías. Her work has brought her various awards, the most recent being the 2008 PEN/Book-of-the-Month Award and the 2008 Oxford Weidenfeld Prize for her translation of Eça de Queiroz’s masterpiece The Maias.
More by Margaret Jull Costa
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