José Martiniano de Alencar

Born in Brazil in 1829, José de Alencar built a remarkably varied career as a novelist, journalist, lawyer, politician, playwright, and public speaker. He is widely remembered as one of the defining writers of Brazilian Romanticism, especially for fiction that tried to imagine Brazil's identity through its landscapes, history, and cultures.

His novel O Guarani helped popularize the Indianista novel, and works such as Iracema and Ubirajara became especially influential for their romanticized portrayals of Indigenous themes. He also wrote urban and regional novels, including Senhora and O Sertanejo, showing a broader interest in Brazilian society beyond historical legend.

Alencar died in Rio de Janeiro in 1877, but his reputation endured. He is often described as one of the major builders of Brazilian literature, not only because of his popularity in his own time, but because his books helped define what a distinctly Brazilian novel could look and sound like.