Alice Dayrell Caldeira Brant (August 28, 1880 – June 20, 1970) was a Brazilian juvenile writer. When she was a teenager, she kept a diary, which describes life in Diamantina, Minas Gerais, Brazil which was then published in 1942. The diary was published under a pen name Helena Morley. When it was originally published it was in portuguese under the title '' Minha Vida de Menina''. The diary was then translated in to English by

Elizabeth Bishop Elizabeth Bishop (February 8, 1911 – October 6, 1979) was an American people, American poet and short-story writer. She was Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1949 to 1950, the Pulitzer Prize winner for Poetry in 1956, the N ...

in 1957.

Biography

Igreja de Nossa Senhora das Mercês - Diamantina-MG

She was born in

Diamantina Diamantina may refer to: Geography Australia * Diamantina Bowen (1833-1893), ''grande dame'' of Queensland and the wife of Sir George Bowen, the first Governor of Queensland. * ''Diamantina Cocktail'', 1976 album by Little River Band * Diam ...

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...

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 ...

to an English father and a Brazilian mother. Her father worked as a diamond miner. The diary chronicles Brant's daily life, and covers her teenage years until 1895. In 1900 Brant married Augusto Mário Calderia Brant, they had five children together. Brant says that she published her diaries in order to act as a role model for younger females who may read the book. She wrote that the diary was a way to show young women what becoming an adult means, and in this way she is acting like a grandmother to the reader. One of her daughters, Ignez Caldeira Brant, married with Abgar Renault, Brazilian

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

(1955-1956) and of the federal accountability office,

Tribunal de Contas da União The Tribunal de Contas da União (''Federal Court of Accounts'', often referred to as TCU) is the Brazilian federal government of Brazil, federal audit office. It is tasked with assisting Congress of Brazil, Congress in its Constitution of Brazi ...

(1967-1973).

Published work

Brant's only published work is ''The Diary of Helena Morley,'' which she began writing when she attended the Normal School. The diary discusses her daily life in the diamond mining town of

, romantic interests, but it also deals with heavier topics like loss. The book also discusses relationships, marriage in particular, but also social affairs and Brant's dreams. The topics of the book make it so that it could be a diary of a present day teenager rather than one 60 years ago. Since Brant discusses her everyday life, insights about that point in history are able to be gained by reading the diary, particularly about the effects of the

abolition of slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

. There is very little documentation about life post

emancipation Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure economic and social rights, political rights or equality, often for a specifically disenfranch ...

, making the diary an important resource for historians. Brant is praised for her ability to add humor to the discussion of racism, which typically is associated with seriousness. Another reason Brant's book was so popular is the nostalgic that it brings the reader, the provincial life of a small town, that the reader is able to find peace in the description of the simple life.

Reception

The book attracted attention like many other diaries of young women. The prevalence of young female diaries is explained for many of the same reasons Brant's own diary is popular. That they allow the reader to feel young again and reminisce about when they were a teenager. Some of the first attention that was drawn to Brant for her work was after Alexandre Eulálio praised Brant for her work these praises placed Brant among classic Brazilian authors. French author

Georges Bernanos Louis Émile Clément Georges Bernanos (; 20 February 1888 – 5 July 1948) was a French author, and a soldier in World War I. A Catholic with monarchist leanings, he was critical of elitist thought and was opposed to what he identified as defe ...

also made the public aware of the book.

was originally drawn to the work in 1952, then in 1957 Bishop published her English translation of the book. Bishop says that she was drawn to Brant's work because of Brant's impressive skills of observation and ability to recreate a scene using only words. Some have compared Brant's work to

Jane Austen Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...

that even though she was from a small town in Brazil, its style is like work from England.

References

External links

1957 Time article on Brant and her book
* Letters, photos, and texts abou

collected by the writer and

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

Vera Brant. {{DEFAULTSORT:Brant, Alice Dayrell Caldeira 1880 births 1970 deaths People from Minas Gerais Brazilian people of English descent Brazilian women writers Brazilian writers