''Éramos Seis'' ("We Were Six") is a 1943

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian novel by

Maria José Dupré Maria José Dupré, also known as Sra. Leandro Dupré (1905 – 15 May 1984), was one of the most popular and prolific Brazilian writers of the 1940s and 1950s. Early life Born in 1905 in a small town in the state of São Paulo, Dupré published h ...

about a struggling middle-class family in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

. Praised by writer and critic Monteiro Lobato, it became a best-selling novel and was awarded the Raul Pompeia Prize for best work of 1943 by the

Brazilian Academy of Letters The Academia Brasileira de Letras (ABL) ( English: ''Brazilian Academy of Letters'') is a Brazilian literary non-profit society established at the end of the 19th century. The first president, Machado de Assis, declared its foundation on Tue ...

. Dupré published a

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

called ''Dona Lola'' in 1949. ''Éramos Seis'' has been adapted as a

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...

five times, in 1958, 1967, 1977, 1994 and 2019.

Plot

''Éramos Seis'' chronicles the struggles of a middle-class family in São Paulo through the eyes of its matriarch Dona Lola.

Reception

''Éramos Seis'' was praised by writer and critic Monteiro Lobato and became a best-selling novel. It was awarded the Raul Pompeia Prize for best work of 1943 by the Brazilian Academy of Letters. Darlene Joy Sadlier writes that Lola's "strength, good humor, love, and ingenuity make for a compelling image of the 'ordinary' wife and mother." She notes that the novel's title is poignant because Lola's husband dies halfway through and the family subsequently disintegrates. The popularity of Lola with the Brazilian public prompted Dupré to publish the sequel ''Dona Lola'' in 1949.

Adaptations

To date, ''Éramos Seis'' has been adapted for television five times. It was first presented as a telenovela by

Rede Record RecordTV (), formerly known as Rede Record, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network. It is currently the second largest commercial TV station in Brazil, and the 28th largest in the 2012 world ranking. In 2010, it was elected by the adverti ...

in 1958. The novel was next adapted twice by

Rede Tupi Rede Tupi (; in English, Tupi Network) was a Brazilian television network free-to-air. Its parent broadcaster, located in the city of São Paulo, was the first TV station to operate in the country, being inaugurated on 18 September 1950 by journ ...

in 1967 and 1977, and by

Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão The Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão (; SBT ; "Brazilian Television System") is a Brazilian television network founded on Wednesday, 19 August 1981, by the businessman and television personality Silvio Santos. The company was established afte ...

in 1994. Finally, it was adapted by

Rede Globo TV Globo (, "Globe TV", or simply Globo), formerly known as Rede Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Grupo Globo. The TV stati ...

in 2019.

References

1943 Brazilian novels Novels set in São Paulo {{Brazil-lit-stub