At the Last Step of the 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 titled Biographical Notes – Steps to Death, Delmira Maçãs narrates the personal experiences that occurred in the final period of her life, with particular emphasis on the events of the revolution of April 25, her late entry into teaching, retirement, and train journeys, true writing laboratories for the author. “On the train, the passengers stretch out on the benches and sleep. Protests from passengers without seats against such a great display of selfishness. But it is the portrait of the Portuguese soldier, fallen into a deep sleep after April 25, yet occupying seats 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 perspective on Portugal of the time, in an unmistakably shrewd and ironic tone. These writings unveil Delmira Maçãs, a complex and contradictory personality who found in the blank pages her most stimulating confidant. The books of Delmira Maçãs were published by Santa Casa in 2009, in fulfillment of the testamentary charge stipulated by the benefactor to the Misericórdia de Lisboa, the institution she chose as her heir: the publication of her personal writings, of an autobiographical nature, but also of a religious and literary character. This is a set of 16 volumes, organized into three collections: Biographical Notes – Steps to Death, Dialogue with the Gospels, and Miscellany.

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

Year of publication: 2009
Publisher: SCML
ISBN: 9789728761554