The Crime of Father Amaro - Complete Novels by Eça de Queirós

In this controversial work, which generated opposition from the Portuguese Catholic Church and, later, from others who accused the author of plagiarism, Eça de Queiroz defined what, for him, was the main function of Art: an extraordinary tool for social reform. It is through the forbidden love between Amaro, a recently arrived parish priest in the city of Leiria, and young Amélia, daughter of the woman who hosts him, that the Catholic clergy and its promiscuous influence on domestic relations are criticised. If this book seemed and could have been the announced death of a solid literary career, it actually became one of the central texts of Eça de Queiroz's work, proving here, once again, to be the leading voice in denouncing the hypocrisy of Portuguese society's values.