The Prime Minister

The story opens with a writer who has settled in Portugal and decides to turn the rich, tumultuous era of the mid‑18th century into a narrative. He anchors the account in the summer of 1755, when the great Lisbon earthquake shattered the city and the reign of the inefficient King John V gave way to his son, Joseph I. Joseph’s more pragmatic nature leads him to appoint Sebastião José de Carvalho, later the Marquis of Pombal, a dynamic statesman intent on reshaping the kingdom.

Drawing on letters, family archives and the vast collections of Oporto’s former convent‑turned‑library, the author weaves a lively portrait of Pombal’s sweeping reforms, his clashes with the Jesuits and the aristocracy, and the social ripples felt across Portugal. The narrative balances admiration for his energy with a critical eye on his harsh methods, inviting listeners to hear a nuanced, ground‑level view of a nation trying to rebuild after disaster.