The Crime of Father Amaro

Eça de Queirós · 1845–1900 · Portugal

Originally O Crime do Padre Amaro (Portuguese)

Why it matters

A young priest's affair with his landlady's devout daughter exposes hypocrisy in provincial Portuguese Catholicism. Eça's scandalous debut announced naturalism's arrival in Portuguese letters.

At a glance

Naturalist detail and irony layered across a long provincial plot.