It is one of the novels of author Rosa Lobato Faria.
It is an imagined biography, told in first person by a an old lady of 90 years old more than a record of her life is a confession of the thoughts that populated her mind, the unmentionable desires that were kept silent and deep love that crossed her restricted existence. The story begins in 1902, the king Carlos still reigned in Portugal and Camilla with only 13 years is betrothed to a man of 40 years old, the royal doctor. A mature woman goes back to her childhood memories, Paca, her dear nanny, the home of her uncles and shows us the seemingly golden mundane and the tumultuous life of a woman in a new fresh twenty century in Portugal. This is not a historical novel, be warm, the regicide, the first great war and the republican movement are just a backdrop to the female character. It is a reading that raises a smile as we devoured the pages, because our interlocutor does not look like to see herself as a mere victim of circumstances, the tone of the writing is not of a mere regret, but rather the story of a pragmatic person that tells us what it was like to be a woman in the last century. Over time, we also witness her intellectual and sexual maturation and Rosa Lobato Faria has a gift that is almost set a musical tone on her sentences, the writing is fluid, concise and without too many frills, goes to the essence and tells you a story, of Camilla. My text is also intended as a small tribute to another woman in this book, the artist, Rosa Lobato Faria who over the years has gave us many words to read while also graced us with her presence on stage and on television.
