Portuguese · 1845–1900
José Maria de Eça de Queirós was the greatest Portuguese novelist of the nineteenth century and one of the most important realist writers in European literature. A diplomat who served in Havana, Newcastle, Bristol, and Paris, he brought an outsider's satirical eye to Portuguese society. His major novels — The Maias, The Crime of Father Amaro, and Cousin Bazilio — are masterpieces of social observation.