Os Maias

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The Maias
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	Print
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.

The book largely concerns the life of young aristocrat Carlos da Maia in 1870s Portugal, where along with his friend João da Ega he spends his time making witticisms about society and having affairs. The novel uses Portugal's decline as a predominant theme, reflecting its author's own regret at his country's slow decay.

[edit] Translations

It was published in 2007 by Dedalus Books in an award-winning English translation by Margaret Jull Costa.

[edit] 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).