O Regicida

Set in Portugal in the 1630s, the novel follows Domingos Leite, the teenage son of a prosperous cutler from Guimarães. Though his family pushes him toward the clergy or the family trade, Domingos is drawn to the fledgling science of pharmacy, mastering Latin and Aristotelian philosophy before heading to Lisbon. At the Royal Hospital he quickly outpaces his mentors, yet the scents of powdered herbs leave him restless.

Seeking a more vibrant world, Domingos swaps the laboratory for a clerkship at the customs office, where he rubs shoulders with scholars and poets. His true craving, however, is music and the artistic life of the royal chapel, a longing that puts him at odds with expectations of stability and wealth. As he pursues his passions, the story captures the cultural clash of ambition, learning, and the rigid hierarchies of 17th‑century Lisbon.