Machado de Assis: five pieces for a cabinet theatre

Abstract

Machado de Assis is mainly known for his tales, stories and novels of maturity. However, it is important to remember that he was also the best theatre critic of his time and an acute analyst of the world in which he lived. This book contains five short plays by the author of Dom Casmurro in which he dissects the emerging carioca bourgeoisie from Brazil in the second half of the 19^th century. This social class was obsessed by the small affairs of their social environment at the same time that they ignored the serious problems confronting their country. The introductory study by the editors admirably illustrates the time and trajectory of the greatest writer in Brazilian literature.