A Little Widow and Five Minutes

Two classic Brazilian romances of love, fate, secrecy, and devotion—translated from the Portuguese with an introduction and notes.First published in nineteenth-century Rio de Janeiro, A Little Widow and Five Minutes brings together two early romantic works by José de Alencar, one of Brazil’s most influential literary voices. In these elegant and deeply sentimental novellas, love is tested by honor, illness, misunderstanding, social duty, and the mysterious power of memory.In A Little Widow, a young bride is left mourning on the very threshold of happiness, bound to the memory of a husband whose apparent death conceals a drama of sacrifice, disgrace, and redemption. In Five Minutes, a chance delay, a fleeting encounter, and a voice heard in the darkness lead the narrator into a passionate search for an unknown woman whose secret may transform love into tragedy.Marked by lyrical prose, moral intensity, and vivid portraits of Rio de Janeiro in the 1800s, these two romances reveal Alencar’s gift for combining intimate emotion with the atmosphere of a changing Brazilian society. This edition offers English-speaking readers access to two foundational works of Brazilian Romantic literature in a carefully prepared translation.A moving edition for readers of classic romance, nineteenth-century fiction, Brazilian literature, and forgotten literary treasures newly restored for modern audiences. Read more