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of restoring the republic, advising his adher-
ents to work in collaboration with the Lib-
eral bloc in the legislature. In his last years
Castelar concentrated on the literary activi-
ties that he had pursued intermittently
throughout his career. He wrote extensively
on Spanish history and politics, the subjects
of his famed oratorical achievements that
had made him the most admired public
speaker of his day. Despite the failure of his
republican dreams, Castelar's integrity, rea-
sonableness, and sweeping vision of Spain's
destiny made him an admired figure whose
legacy would survive until the founding of
the Second Republic in 1931.
Their children were more of a problem than
a blessing, particularly the son who became
insane (supposedly a hereditary affliction of
the paternal line). Castelo Branco, who had
already achieved some literary recognition,
now became a full-time writer in the most
literal sense. Most of his 58 novels were
written during the later decades of his life,
often under intense pressure from publish-
ers, who dictated the subject matter as well
as the due date of the manuscript. Finally
worn out by family problems, old age, and
deteriorating health, Castelo Branco com-
mitted suicide.
Despite the impression of being both a
picaro and a hack writer, conveyed by his
personal biography, Castelo Branco was
well regarded by his contemporaries and
sufficiently esteemed by the Portuguese
establishment to be awarded the title of vis-
conde. Almost all of his topics, although
disfigured by the circumstances under
which they were written, contain elements
of real merit. He possessed a casual and
engaging style, a familiarity with all levels
of society, and a shrewd eye for character
depiction. His easy manner, light satirical
tone, and sympathetic tolerance for human
foibles gave little evidence of the troubles
he had (and still) experienced.
Among Castelo Branco's best-regarded
novels are
Onde Está a Felicidade?
(
Where Is
Happiness?
1856),
Vingança
(Revenge, 1858),
and
Amor de perdição
(
Love of Perdition,
1862).
This last work was evidently inspired by his
own experience of passion and imprison-
ment. Despite the disorderly state of his
affairs and his successive resort to whatever
literary genre would sell best at the time—
from his early gothic stories to romance to
realism—Castelo Branco evidently settled
upon a consistent level of plotting and writ-
Castelo Branco, Camilo (visconde
de Correia Botelho)
(1825-1895)
Portuguese novelist
The life of Castelo Branco reads like the plot
of one of his own novels, although none of
them quite reaches the same level of com-
plexity and melodrama. The illegitimate
son of a provincial family, he was orphaned
at an early age and raised indifferently by
relatives. Despite a spotty education he
attended university with the aim of becom-
ing a physician but abandoned this career
goal in favor of casual journalism and a
bohemian lifestyle. Among many romances
his preferred mistress was Ana Plácido who
jilted him to marry a more substantial
suitor. It was at this interval, apparently,
that he decided to enter the religious life.
That career path he also abandoned with-
out attaining ordination. Ana, having wea-
ried of her husband, ran off with Castelo
Branco, but he was arrested and imprisoned
for adultery. Shortly after he was released,
Ana became a widow, and they married.
Their life together was not entirely smooth.
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