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

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

ian novel by Maria José Dupré about a struggling middle-class family in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

. Praised by writer and critic

Monteiro Lobato José Bento Renato Monteiro Lobato (; 18 April 1882 – 4 July 1948) was one of Brazil's most influential writers, mostly for his children's books set in the fictional Sítio do Picapau Amarelo (Yellow Woodpecker Farm) but he had been previous ...

, 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 Tuesday, ...

. 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 (film and television), drama genres around the w ...

five times, in 1958, 1967, 1977,

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

and

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

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 Record (stylized in uppercase; ), formerly known as Rede Record and RecordTV, 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 ...

in 1958. The novel was next adapted twice by

Rede Tupi Rede Tupi (; in English, Tupi Network) was a Brazilian commercial terrestrial television network. Its flagship station, located in the city of São Paulo, was the first TV station to operate in the country, being inaugurated on 18 September 1 ...

in 1967 and 1977, and by

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

in 1994. Finally, it was adapted by

Rede Globo TV Globo (stylized as tvglobo; , ), formerly known as Rede Globo de Televisão (; shortened to Rede Globo) or simply known as Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965 ...

in 2019.

References

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