The Tragedy of the Street of Flowers
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 Cover of the 2009 reprint of the English-language version | |
| Author | José Maria de Eça de Queirós |
|---|---|
| Original title | A Tragédia da Rua das Flores |
| Translator | Margaret Jull Costa |
| Cover artist | Marie Lane/ Carlos Botelho |
| Language | Portuguese |
| Series | Dedalus European Classics |
| Genre | Realism |
| Publisher | Dedalus |
Publication date | 1980 |
| Publication place | Portugal |
Published in English | 2000 reprinted in 2009 |
| Pages | 346 |
| ISBN | 9781873982648 |
The Tragedy of the Street of Flowers (Portuguese: A Tragédia da Rua das Flores) is a novel by José Maria de Eça de Queirós (1845 - 1900), also known as Eça de Queiroz. It was only first published in Portuguese in 1980. The first English version, translated by Margaret Jull Costa, was published by Dedalus Books in 2000, to coincide with the centenary of the author’s death.
This novel was written between 1877 and 1878 in Newcastle upon Tyne, where Eça was the Portuguese Consul.[1] It was discovered amongst his papers after his death [2] and remained unpublished for more than one hundred years, only being published in 1980 after copyrights expired. It is possible that the writer's family refused to publish the book earlier due to the fact that an incestuous relationship is the dominant feature of the story.[3] For some commentators the novel was designed to serve as an outline for the author’s novel The Maias, as it contains resemblances between characters and events described;[4] for others it has been seen as a draft for his novel Cousin Bazilio.[3]
Plot
The narrative focuses on the beautiful Joaquina (later known as Genoveva) who leaves her husband and child in Portugal and flees with a Spaniard to Spain, where she becomes a courtesan, eventually marrying a French Senator and moving to Paris. With the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte and the death of the husband, she returns to Lisbon where she attracts considerable attention both for her beauty and because of her mysterious history. She becomes a paid mistress of the unattractive, but rich, Dâmaso while, at the same time, falling in love with a young man called Vítor da Silva. Only after their love has been consummated does she learn that she is Vitor’s mother, and this leads to her suicide so that Vitor will not discover the truth.