Crime do Padre Amaro, by Eça de Queirós 

O Crime do Padre Amaro is one of Eça de Queirós's most internationally known works, introducing literary realism in Portugal. The novel was initially published in installments in the "Western Magazine" and later, in 1975, it was published in volume by the then Chardron Bookstore.
The book tells the story of the forbidden love between Amaro, a young priest newly arrived in Leiria, and Amélia, the daughter of the owner of the boarding house where he lodges, and constitutes an indictment by the author of the moral corruption of society at the time, especially the clergy. Due to its theme, the work was contested by the Catholic Church and was banned in Portuguese classrooms.

Eça de Queirós

Eça de Queirós was born in Póvoa de Varzim on November 25, 1845. He is considered one of the greatest novelists in all Portuguese literature, the first and foremost Portuguese realist writer, profoundly renewing and insightful of Portuguese literary prose. He studied Law at Coimbra, where he socialized with many of the future representatives of the 1870 Generation. After graduating, he began his journalistic experience and, together with Ramalho Ortigão, published "As Farpas," satirical chronicles of inquiry into Portuguese life.
In 1872, he began his diplomatic career, during which he held the position of consul in Havana, Newcastle, Bristol, and Paris. It was due to his experience abroad and his critical distance that much of his novelistic work was born, dedicated to the criticism of Portuguese social life, highlighted by "O Primo Basílio," "O Crime do Padre Amaro," "A Relíquia," and "Os Maias," the latter considered his masterpiece.