Os Maias

The Maias
Cover of volume 1 in the first edition (1888)
Author(s)	José Maria de Eça de Queiroz
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	990 458pp (Vol. 1) 532pp (Vol. 2)

Os Maias: episódios da vida romântica ("The Maias: Episodes of Romantic Life", Maia being the name of a fictional family, although some episodes fit into the history of the real Maia family) is a naturalist novel by Portuguese author José Maria de Eça de Queiroz, also known under the modernized spelling Eça de Queirós.

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 the Monarchy's decline in Portugal (late 19th century), as a predominant theme, reflecting its author's own regret at his country's slow decay.

Its reading has been, for a long time, compulsory for 11th year students in Portugal.

Translations

The first English translation, by Patricia McGowan Pinheiro and Ann Stevens was published in 1965 by St. Martins Press. In 2007 Dedalus Books published a new English translation by Margaret Jull Costa which won the 2008 Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize.

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 a 9% audience share).

Other adaptations

Paula Rego painted a series of pastels, inspired by this novel, which have been exhibited in London.