24 h 44 minAudiobook13 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
In a grand Lisbon house, a family's hopes rest on a young man who has everything except a purpose.
The Maias follows a wealthy Portuguese family across three generations. At the Ramalhete, their grand old Lisbon home, Afonso da Maia places his hopes in his grandson Carlos. Handsome, gifted, and trained in medicine, Carlos has every advantage. Yet his fine consulting room and laboratory cannot give his life direction.
Around Carlos, Lisbon society gathers for dinners, horse races, gossip, and quarrels. His witty friend João da Ega dreams of writing a grand book, while others chase fashion and connections. Then Maria Eduarda enters Carlos's world, and love gives his drifting days a purpose. Beneath the polished rooms and lively talk, something feels wrong.
What you’ll discover
- Three generations of hope Follow Afonso, Pedro, and Carlos through a family story shaped by upbringing, passion, and expectation.
- A house full of promise Enter the Ramalhete, where renewed grandeur surrounds an old man's hopes for his grandson.
- Lisbon beneath the polish See vanity and imitation exposed through sharp portraits of fashionable, restless society.
- Love interrupts a drifting life Meet Maria Eduarda, whose arrival draws Carlos away from his comfortable lack of purpose.
- Rooms, clothes, and gestures Enjoy Eça de Queirós's close attention to ordinary details and his sharp, amused eye.
Is it for you?
This summary suits readers who love long family novels, social satire, and stories where character and society shape each other. It is also good for anyone curious about Portugal. If you want fast action, the novel's slow, talkative pace may feel less suited.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- An old house and an old man
- A weak son and a dangerous marriage
- Carlos is raised the English way
- Coimbra, friendship, and a loud young man
- A rich doctor with no real patients
- Lisbon society: gossip, vanity, and imitation
- A glimpse of a woman, and love begins
- What the novel is really about
- How Eça tells the story
Who’s who
- Afonso da MaiaThe patriarch of the family, a liberal and principled old man who lived in English exile and now pins every hope on his grandson.
- Carlos da MaiaAfonso's grandson, a handsome, rich, and gifted young doctor who has every advantage but no clear purpose, until love gives him one.
- Pedro da MaiaAfonso's son, raised by an anxious mother, a nervous and emotional man who marries for passion against his father's wishes.
- Maria MonfortePedro's wife, a beautiful and restless daughter of a merchant with a bad name, who wants luxury and attention.
- João da EgaCarlos's loud, witty friend from Coimbra, who loves scandal and big ideas and dreams of writing a grand book.
- Maria EduardaA tall, fair, and elegant woman living quietly in Lisbon with her daughter, whose arrival draws Carlos out of his drifting life.
- Tomás de AlencarAn old romantic poet, warm and theatrical, who loves the Maia family and quarrels happily with the new realist writers.
- Dâmaso SalcedeA plump, anxious young man who copies Paris fashions, boasts of his connections, and tries to attach himself to Carlos.
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- Audiobook
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- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 13 minutes, to read or to hear.
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
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The Maias
by Eça de Queirós· 1888
A wealthy Lisbon family's hopes meet love and hidden history.
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Language: English
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 9
An old house and an old man
The novel opens in the autumn of 1875, when the Maia family moves into a house in Lisbon called the Ramalhete. The name means a small bunch of flowers, and the house stands on a street that slopes toward the river Tagus. It had stood half empty and gloomy for years. Now it is being refitted with fine furniture, books, and carpets.
The man who gives it life is Afonso da Maia, the head of the family, who is already old with a long white beard. He is a man of strong principles and kind manners. In his youth he had quarrelled with his own father, a stern and superstitious believer in the old order. Afonso had favoured liberal ideas, and his politics sent him into exile in England.
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The author
Eça de Queirós
1845–1900 · Portuguese novelist
Eça de Queirós was a Portuguese writer and diplomat, born in Póvoa de Varzim in 1845. He wrote The Crime of Father Amaro (1875), Cousin Bazilio (1878), and The Maias (1888). His diplomatic work took him to Cuba, Britain, and France. He died in Paris in 1900.
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What is The Maias about?
It tells the story of a wealthy Lisbon family across three generations, focusing on Carlos da Maia, his grandfather Afonso, and a love affair. It also draws a satirical portrait of Portuguese society in the 1870s.
Is The Maias a true story?
No, it is a work of fiction published in 1888. Eça de Queirós drew on the real Lisbon of his time and its politics, press, and fashions, but the family and plot are invented.
Is The Maias hard to read?
It is long and has many characters, and the social scenes move slowly. But the prose is clear and funny, and the main story is easy to follow. Most readers find it rewarding.
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