On the Landing of the Last Flight of Stairs

Compilation of loose notes that tell the story of Delmira Maçãs, benefactor of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa, vivid accounts written in the first person. In this seventh and final volume of the collection entitled Notas Biográfica – Degraus para a Morte, Delmira Maçãs narrates the personal experiences that took place in the last period of her life, with particular emphasis on the events of the 25th of April revolution, her late entry into the teaching profession, the retirement and train travel, true writing laboratories for the author. “On the train, the magala stretch out on the benches and sleep. Protests by passengers without a place against such a great manifestation of selfishness. But it is the portrait of the Portuguese soldier, fallen into a deep sleep after the 25th of April, but occupying places that do not belong to him. There, on the train, however, ‘the people are not with the MFA’”, writes the author. In this narrative path, the author shares with the reader her unique look at Portugal at the time, in an unmistakably sagacious and ironic record. These writings reveal Delmira Maçãs, a complex and contradictory personality who found her most stimulating confidant in the white of the pages. Delmira Maçãs' books were published by Santa Casa in 2009, in fulfillment of the testamentary mandate stipulated by the benefactor to the Misericórdia de Lisboa, an institution she chose as her heir: the publication of her personal writings, of an autobiographical nature, but also of a religious and literary. It is a set of 16 volumes, organized into three collections: Biographical Notes – Steps to Death, Dialogue with the Gospels and Miscellaneous.

Author: Delmira Apples
Collection: Biographical Notes. Steps to Death

Year of publication: 2009
Editor: SCML
ISBN: 9789728761554