Alexandre Herculano

The biography traces the life of a librarian, novelist, and historian born in Lisbon, following his early clerical education, participation in a military revolt and brief exile, and appointment as librarian in Porto and later to the king. It recounts his journalistic and fictional output, his major historical works including a multi-volume national history, studies on the Inquisition, and his direction of a national monuments series. The narrative also treats recurring conflicts with institutions and clergy, his withdrawal to a rural estate to cultivate olive oil, and his final illness and ceremonial reburial, while describing a stern, combative temperament and relentless dedication to documentary scholarship.