"D. Sebastian and the Seer" by Deana Barroqueiro – First Edition, 2016

"D. Sebastian and the Seer" text by Deana Barroqueiro First Edition, 2016 Casa das Letras 694 Pages "D. Sebastian and the Seer" recounts the story of the sixteenth king of Portugal, the Desired One, from his birth in 1554 to his dazzling downfall on the plains of Alcácer Quibir in 1578. Embodying the nation’s hopes, D. Sebastian is nonetheless an orphan deprived of affection, raised and educated by elders—his grandmother, Queen D. Catarina, and his uncle, Cardinal D. Henrique. Proclaimed king at age three, he grows up capricious and tormented by adolescent traumas and complexes, sublimated into the visionary dreams of glory of a young idealist. Master of absolute power (fueled by the corruption of courtiers and politicians), he assumes the role of God’s Captain in a crusade against the Moors—a campaign that leads Portugal to disaster, foretold by the visions of Miguel Leitão de Andrada, a nobleman from Pedrógão Grande with pretensions to clairvoyance, whose life intertwines with the king’s in a duality of idealism and materialism later immortalized in Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. The Desired One, owing to his fascinating yet problematic personality, became a myth—the Sebastianist myth—both loved and hated across centuries; meanwhile, the disaster of Alcácer Quibir consigned to oblivion the finest achievements of his reign: political, administrative, and military reforms. --- Born in the USA in 1945, she was a Portuguese language teacher, author of theater and creative writing projects, and contributor of articles on Portuguese history and culture; she also co-wrote scripts for documentaries and television series. She published a collection of seven adventure novels: "Southern Cross"; "Erotic Tales" and "New Erotic Tales from the Old Testament" (published in Spain, Italy, and Brazil); "D. Sebastian and the Seer" (Maxima Literature Prize 2007 / Special Jury Prize); "1640", about the Restoration; "The Navigator of the Passage—Bartolomeu Dias"; "The Spy of King João II—Pêro da Covilhã"; "The Corsair of the Seven Seas—Fernão Mendes Pinto" (adapted by João Botelho into the 2017 film "Peregrinação"). She has received numerous awards, including the Femina Prize in 2021 and the Grito de Mujer Prize in 2022. Her three-volume work "History of Palates" earned the most prestigious international gastronomy awards. "Secret Drafts" is her latest novel. AS NEW – FREE SHIPPING