Castelo Branco, Camilo

(1825-1890)

   A giant of 19th-century Portuguese literature, member of second romantic generation, and early realist writer. After a brief engagement with medical school, he drifted into an adventurous, turbulent life of journalism, cafés, and love affairs. Arrested for adultery and involved in mysticism and study at a Catholic seminary, he became committed to making a difficult living from journalism and books. The novels and stories of Camilo take place primarily in specific geographical settings in provincial Portugal, especially in the province of Tras-os-Montes and between the Douro and Minho Rivers. The social classes portrayed are mainly provincials, decadent aristocrats, peasants, and Oporto bourgeoisie. Repeated themes are orphanhood, the prevalence of feelings of the heart over restrained conventions and family interests, kidnapping, and crimes of love and passion. His first novel was published in 1851, after he had spent months in prison for adultery. Among his more notable and numerous works are Memórias do Cárcere (1861, Jailhouse Memories) and his widely famous Amor de Perdição (1863), a work revived in other fiction, in film, and on stage. Among his talents as a prolific if uneven novelist are his strong power of narrative, accurate renderings of provincial speech and language, and a vast vocabulary. At the end of his life, Camilo Castelo Branco suffered terribly from increasing blindness. In 1890, he committed suicide with a revolver.