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 State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

, Dupré published her first story "Uma Família Antiga de Jaboticabal" ("An Old Family from Jaboticabal") in the newspaper ''

O Estado de S. Paulo ''O Estado de S. Paulo'' (; ), also known as ''Estadão'' (; ), is a daily newspaper published in São Paulo, Brazil. It is the third largest newspaper in Brazil, and its format changed from broadsheet to berliner on October 17, 2021. It has t ...

'' in 1978.

Novels

Dupré published her first novel, ''O Romance de Teresa Bernard'' ("The Romance of Teresa Bernard"), in 1941. Her next novel, '' Éramos Seis'', was written in 1943 and praised by writer and critic Monteiro Lobato and became a best-seller. Chronicling the struggles of a 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 Ga ...

, the novel 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 wrote ''Luz e Sombra'' ("Light and Dark") in 1944, ''Gina'' in 1945, and ''Os Rodriguez'' ("The Rodriguezes") in 1946. She 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 ...

to ''Éramos Seis'' called ''Dona Lola'' in 1949.

Impact

''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.

Later life

Dupré died on 15 May 1984 in

Guarujá Guarujá (; ) is a municipality in the São Paulo state of Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Baixada Santista. The population is 322,750 (2020 est.) in an area of . This place name comes from the Tupi language, and means "narrow pa ...

, São Paulo, Brazil.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dupre, Maria Jose 1905 births 1984 deaths People from Guarujá 20th-century Brazilian women writers Brazilian women novelists 20th-century Brazilian novelists