Portuguese literature

About the book

Aubrey F. G. Bell sets out to provide an accessible account of Portuguese writing, attending to authors, texts, and the historical circumstances around them. Early discussions of cossantes and cancioneiros open a survey with bibliography and indexing for further reading. Its judgments and national characterizations belong to the early twentieth century and should be examined rather than adopted automatically. Bell's prefatory note also explains the delay between preparation and publication, an important reminder that a survey has a historical horizon of its own. The book can serve as a map for further reading, especially when names are unfamiliar, but not as a substitute for the works it discusses. Its usefulness lies in connections and orientation rather than the final authority of every evaluation.

• Literary history
• National traditions
• Reading across periods

Why read it

For an organized historical introduction that can help readers place Portuguese authors in relation to one another.

English literary survey by Aubrey F. G. Bell · 1922