Aluísio Azevedo

Born in São Luís, Maranhão, in 1857, Aluísio Azevedo became one of the key names in Brazilian literature. He worked as a writer, journalist, and later diplomat, and is widely remembered for novels including O Mulato, Casa de pensão, and O Cortiço.

He is often described as a leading figure in Brazilian naturalism, a literary movement interested in social forces, environment, and human behavior. His fiction is known for its close attention to everyday life and for examining prejudice, class, and life in the city.

Azevedo died in Buenos Aires in 1913. More than a century later, his work remains central to discussions of nineteenth-century Brazilian literature.