José Maria de Eça de Queirós, known as Eça de Queirós, is widely regarded as the greatest Portuguese writer in the realist style. Born on 25 November 1845, he has been celebrated for his significant contributions to literature, introducing naturalism and realism to Portugal. The renowned writer Zola considered him to be far greater than Flaubert, and in the London Observer, Jonathan Keates ranked him alongside literary giants such as Dickens, Balzac, and Tolstoy.

Eça de Queirós was a novelist committed to social reform. He was the son of a prominent magistrate and spent his early years with relatives, attending boarding school at the age of five. He graduated with a degree in law from the University of Coimbra in 1866. Despite his legal career, his true passion lay in literature.