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.
Who will love it
For readers who love family novels, social satire, and stories where character and society shape each other. It is also for anyone curious about Portugal, Lisbon society, and the pull of family, upbringing, and forbidden desire.
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.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 24 h 44 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 13 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, for the whole household.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear The Maias in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
The Maias
by Eça de Queirós · 1888
In Lisbon, Carlos da Maia has every advantage but no clear purpose, until Maria Eduarda gives love a place in his life.
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- The whole household
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
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.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, for the whole household. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - The whole householdUp to 5 readers
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The Maias
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
Can my family read too?
Yes. The whole household reads and listens: up to 5 readers, each with their own shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
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 has many characters. The prose is clear and funny, and the main story is easy to follow. Most readers find it rewarding.
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.
More like this
Free
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
Popular in classics
See all
Free
