Alvaro do Carvalhal

Born in Padrela, in Valpaços, on February 3, 1844, Álvaro do Carvalhal studied in Braga before entering the University of Coimbra to read law. He began publishing early, first with poems and prose in local newspapers and, while still very young, with the drama O Castigo da Vingança.

Although his life was brief—he died in Coimbra on March 14, 1868, while still a student—his work made a lasting impression. He is remembered above all for his fantastic and horror-tinged stories, a rare and distinctive strain in 19th-century Portuguese literature.

His best-known work is usually considered Os Canibais, and his fiction was gathered in the posthumous volume Contos. For many readers, his small body of work feels all the more memorable because it combines gothic atmosphere, dark humor, and a sense of promise cut short.