Timeline

Born Afonso Henriques de Lima Barreto, on May 13. Baptized on October 13, in the church of Nossa Senhora da Glória. His godfather is senator Afonso Celso, a friend of his father, the typesetter João Henriques de Lima Barreto.

Sister, Evangelina, is born. Mother, Amália Augusta Pereira de Carvalho, a teacher, shows symptoms of tuberculosis, prompting the family to move to Flamengo, Santa Luzia, Boca do Mato, Catumbi and Paula Matos.

Brother, Carlindo, is born.

Father, João Henriques, begins working for the National Press.

Brother, Eliézer, is born

Lima Barreto learns to write his first words with his mother, who passes away on December 23. Family moves to the city center.

Lima Barreto starts attending the municipal public school on Rezende street. On his seventh birthday, he attends the celebrations of the abolition of slavery with his father. In August, João Henriques publishes a translation of the Manual do aprendiz compositor, by French printer and writer Jules Claye, intended for employees at the National Press. In December, Lima Barreto begins working as a paginator for the Tribuna Liberal, affiliated with Afonso Celso and the Liberal Party.

In March, Lima Barreto is enrolled as a boarding student at the Liceu Popular Niteroiense. His benefactor, the viscount of Ouro Preto, pays for his books.

Lima Barreto finishes secondary school and part of supplementary school at Liceu Popular Niteroiense. He passes his preparatory exams in Portuguese and French, without distinction, at the Ginásio Nacional (now Colégio Pedro II).

In March, Lima Barreto is enrolled at Colégio Paula Freitas, a preparatory boarding school for the Politécnica.

In April, he enrolls in his first year of general coursework at the Politécnica, intending to study civil engineering. He moves into a boarding house downtown. In his first year, he fails all of his classes, except physics. He begins frequenting the National Library, on Passeio Street. In the following years, he becomes one of the institution’s most assiduous readers.

In April, he enrolls in the rest of his required first-year engineering courses but again fails calculus and descriptive geometry.

Lima Barreto enrolls in his first year at the Politécnica for the third time. In November, he fails calculus for the fourth time.

Travels to Barbacena (Minas Gerais) with colleagues from the Politécnica to carry out field work in topography. This is Lima Barreto’s first recorded trip outside of Rio. The writer would rarely leave his hometown. On July 2, he records his first notes in his Diário íntimo (Intimate Diary): a draft of the first chapter of a roman à clef based on his daily life at the Politécnica. November brings his first known publication, the sonnet “Assim…,” in the newspaper O Suburbano, published on Governor’s Island. On December 1, he publishes the chronicle “Francisco Braga—Concertos sinfônicos” in A Lanterna, the writer’s debut in journalism. He adopts the pseudonym Alfa Z.

João Henriques, Lima Barreto’s father, is diagnosed with neurasthenia, an umbrella term for various mental disorders. In November, with his friend and classmate Bastos Tigre, Lima Barreto edits A Quinzena Alegre, a short-lived satirical pamphlet.

In June, Lima Barreto records in his Diário íntimo that he is eating very little due to financial difficulties. He applies for an open position as an amanuensis for the Secretary of War. In July, he writes two chronicles for the satirical newspaper O Tagarela, under the pseudonym Rui de Pina. On August 12, O Diabo—a humorous magazine to which he contributes, directed by Bastos Tigre—begins circulating. He publishes a chronicle under the penname Rui de Pina and another under Diabo Coxo. In October, he receives the amanuensis position for the Secretary of War. In November. he leaves the Politécnica. To supplement his income, he starts giving private lessons. He drafts a play titled “Os negros.” By year end, he becomes secretary to the editorial staff of Revista da Epoca.

In March, he leaves the editorial office of Revista da Epoca, refusing to write praise commissioned by politicians. In September, he writes the short story “Um especialista,” published in 1915 in the first edition of Triste Fim de Policarpo Quaresma. In November, he records initial drafts of Clara dos Anjos in his Diário íntimo. Also in his Diário, he drafts the argument for Marco Aurélio e seus irmãos, a novel in twenty chapters, inspired by his family history. In an undated note, he writes: “The mental capacity of blacks is discussed a priori and that of whites, a posteriori.”

In January, Lima Barreto registers another literary project in his Diário íntimo: “I plan to write a novel describing the life and work of black people on a farm. It will be a kind of black Germinal, with more special psychology and a greater breath of epicness…” On January 17 he writes: “Tonight I received a postcard. There is a monkey on it with an allusion to me, and underneath, with a lack of syntax, is the following: ‘Foolish and burlesque are those who seek to lay claim to prerogatives they do not have. M’. […] How bitter! A bitterness that makes me stronger.” On April 28, he begins to publish, anonymously, in the Correio da Manhã “O subterrâneo do morro do Castelo,” a series of 26 reports about the presumed existence of Jesuit treasures buried there. The journalists of the Correio would be ruthlessly portrayed in Recordações do Escrivão Isaías Caminha (1909) as employees of the fictious O Globo. The preface to Recordações is dated July 12.

The preface to Vida e morte de M. J. Gonzaga de Sá, “Explicação necessária,” is dated October 8. Although the novel is not published until 1919, it would be written almost entirely between 1906 and 1907. In December, Lima Barreto writes the short story “Gabriela’s Son,” published in 1915 in the first edition of Triste Fim de Policarpo Quaresma.

Lima Barreto contributes to the first issues of the magazine Fon-Fon, under the pseudonyms Phileas Fogg and S. Holmes. On October 25, the first issue of Floreal is released—a bimonthly publication of criticism and literature, directed by Lima Barreto, in which the first chapters of Isaías Caminha would appear. On December 31, the fourth and final issue of Floreal is published, fifty-six pages long. With the end of the magazine, the serial publication of Isaías Caminha is interrupted.

On July 16, Lima Barreto records suicidal thoughts in his Diário: “Today, when this sad desire comes to me, it is no longer the feeling of my intelligence that prevents me from consummating the act: it is the habit of living, it is cowardice, it is my weak and hopeful nature. […] Only alcohol gives me pleasure and tempts me…Oh, god! Whatever will become of me?” He notes that Recordações do Escrivão Isaías Caminha is almost finished. “Two or three chapters remain to be written.”

In March, Lima Barreto receives an acceptance for publication of Isaías Caminha from the Portuguese editor A. M. Teixeira. The novel is to be published without remuneration—the author will receive copies of the book as payment. In November, Recordações do Escrivão Isaías Caminha begins to circulate in Rio de Janeiro. The release is barely mentioned by the press in Rio. The few reviews of the book recriminate it for being a roman à clef.

On February 12, Lima Barreto publishes his first chronicle in the magazine Careta, under the pseudonym Puck. In November, he writes the short story “A nova Califórnia,” included in the first edition of Triste Fim de Policarpo Quaresma (1915). In December, the first drafts of Triste Fim appear in undated notes in his Diário.

In March, Lima Barreto finishes Triste Fim de Policarpo Quaresma. In the same month, “A nova Califórnia” is published in Revista Americana. On April 20, he begins publishing in the Gazeta da Tarde, with his debut “O homem que sabia javanês.” On May 27, he publishes in the Gazeta the short story “Ele e suas ideias” and the one-act comedy “Casa de poetas.” On June 3, the Gazeta publishes the first version of “Numa e ninfa,” in the form of a short story. On August 11, the novel Triste Fim de Policarpo Quaresma is published in the afternoon edition of the Jornal do Commercio but is practically ignored by critics.

Em 1º de fevereiro entra em nova licença médica para tratamento de “reumatismo poliarticular” e “hipercinese cardíaca”, sintomas típicos de alcoolismo. Em 27 de junho é posto à venda o folheto picaresco O Chamisco ou O querido das mulheres, pela revista O Riso, texto não assinado. Em setembro publica, em dois fascículos, Aventuras do dr. Bogóloff: Episódios da vida de um pseudorrevolucionário russo, cujo protagonista reaparecerá em Numa e a ninfa. Em setembro, O Riso lança o folheto Entra, senhór!…, também não assinado. Em março escreve o conto “Um e outro”, publicado na primeira edição de Triste fim de Policarpo Quaresma (1915). O conto também aparecerá na edição de julho-dezembro da revista portuguesa A Águia.

In March, Lima Barreto writes the short story “Miss Edith e seu tio,” published in Illustração Brasileira on April 16—and also in Triste Fim de Policarpo Quaresma the following year. On June 19, he begins to write daily chronicles for the Correio da Noite. On July 13, he writes in his Díario: “I notice my temper changing. Today I was scared out of my wits. Am I going mad?” On August 18, during an alcoholic attack, he is restrained to prevent him from destroying the family home. Following the doctor’s advice, he goes to an uncle’s farm in Mangaratiba, but the episode reoccurs and his brother Carlindo arranges for him to be taken by police car and admitted to the Hospital de Alienados, in Botafogo, where he receives opium treatment. He is discharged from the hospital on October 13 and five days later writes the short story “Como o ‘homem’ chegou,” in which he reconstructs the trauma of the long trip from Mangaratiba to the hospital. On November 1, he leaves the Secretary of War again for health reasons. The diagnosis is identical to his father’s: neurasthenia. In December, he begins writing again for the Correio da Noite.

On March 20, the daily newspaper A Noite begins publishing the pamphlet Numa e a ninfa: Romance da vida contemporânea. In the same month, Lima Barreto begins to publish more frequently in Careta, almost always under a pseudonym. In December, Triste Fim de Policarpo Quaresma goes to print.

On February 18, the newspaper A Epoca publishes on its front page an interview with Lima Barreto and a favorable review of Triste Fim, which is released on February 26. It is the writer’s first book published in Brazil. Dated 1915, it includes the short stories “Um especialista,” “O filho da Gabriela,” “A nova Califórnia,” “O homem que sabia javanês,” “Um e outro,” “Miss Edith e seu tio,” and “Como o ‘homem’ chegou.” In June, Lima Barreto travels to Ouro Fino (Minas Gerais) where, due to an attack of alcoholic delirium, he is interned at the local asylum. On September 10, he publishes the chronicle manifesto “Amplius!” in the newspaper A Epoca, in which he criticizes the literary establishment and makes explicit his advocacy for a more socially-engaged literature. The text is later incorporated as an introduction to the volume of short stories Histórias e sonhos (1920). On November 25, he begins collaborating with the magazine A.B.C., which publishes some of his best political texts, including the allegorical tales of Os bruzundangas. The postscript added by the author to the “Breve notícia” of Recordações do Escrivão Isaías Caminha—whose second (first Brazilian) edition would appear in September of the following year—is dated December 31.

In March, the newspaper A Noite releases the first edition of the novel Numa e a ninfa in book form, which bears the date 1915 on the frontispiece. Two issues are published, the second with the description “Romance sugestivo de escândolos femininos” on the cover. In July, Lima Barreto is admitted to the Hospital Central do Exército due to another drinking binge. He delivers the original copies of Os bruzundangas to the editor Jacinto Ribeiro dos Santos. The book would not be published until December 1922. On August 21, Lima Barreto writes to Rui Barbosa, president of the Brazilian Academy of Letters, to apply for the seat left by the death of Sousa Bandeira. His candidacy would be disregarded. In September, the second edition of Recordações do Escrivão Isaiás Camina, “revised and expanded,” is released, at the author’s own expense.

In January, the short story “Sua Excelência” is published in São Paulo’s Plateia magazine. On July 29, Lima Barreto applies for retirement from the Secretary of War due to disability. On August 17, an official medical board deems him unfit to work; the official diagnosis is “Toxic Epilepsy.” On October 5, through the pages of the A.B.C, he becomes involved in a controversy over the hiring of a woman as an amanuensis for the Secretary of Relations. Lima Barreto considers feminism elitist, though he condemns feminicide and other forms of violence against women. On November 4, he is found lying on Todos os Santos Street; he is taken to the Hostpial Central do Exército, where he is hospitalized for two months. From the hospital, he sends the original manuscript of Vida e Morte de M. J. Gonzaga de Sá to Monteiro Lobato, then editor of São Paulo’s Revista do Brasil. Lobato approves of the manuscript and offers him a million réis in advance and 50% of the profits from sales of the novel. On December 26, Lobato is retired by decree of the acting president, Delfim Moreira.

On January 5, Lima Barreto is discharged from the military hospital. His illness is classified as “chronic alcoholism.” On February 1, he suspends his collaboration with the A.B.C by letter, in protest to a racist article. Upon the magazine’s retraction, he resumes sending chronicles in the following weeks. On February 22, Vida e Morte de M.J. Gonzaga de Sá begins selling in bookstores in Rio de Janeiro. On February 24, Lima Barreto runs for a second time for the Brazilian Academy of Letters, for the empty seat left by the death of Emílio de Meneses. He receives two votes on the first two ballots and only one on each of the remaining ballots. On August 2, he publishes in the A.B.C. the chronicle “Uma fatia acadêmica,” in which he criticizes Machado de Assis and the Brazilian Academy of Letters. On December 25, he is admitted for the second time to the Hospital de Alienados, after another psychotic break. As in 1914, he receives an opium-based treatment. His stay at Praia da Saudade gives rise to his notes in Diário do hospício, which in turn serves as the basis for his unfinished novel O cemitério dos vivos.

Lima Barreto is discharged on February 2. In November, he sends the original copies for História e sonhos to editor and friend Francisco Schettino. The book is released in December, gathering twenty short stories, including “O moleque,” “Cló,” “Agaricus auditae,” “Sua Excelência,” and “Clara dos Anjos,” a condensed version of the novel of the same name, underway since 1904. On December 4, Gonzaga de Sá enters the running for “Best Book of the Year” from the Brazilian Academy of Letters. Lima Barreto gives Francisco Schettino the original manuscripts of Marginália, some of which are lost. The book is published posthumously in 1953, together with Mágoas e sonhos do povo and Impressões de leitura.

In January, Lima Barreto publishes “As origens,” the first chapter of O cemitério dos vivos, in Revista Souza Cruz. In April, Gonzaga de Sá receives honorable mention from the Brazilian Academy of Letters. In June, the second issue of Gonzaga de Sá is published, with a new cover and reference to the honorable mention. On July 1, Lima Barreto applies for João do Rio’s seat in the Brazilian Academy of Letters. In August, he sends Francisco Schettino the originals of Bagatelas, a volume of chronicles that would not be released until 1923. On September 28, he withdraws his candidacy to the Brazilian Academy of Letters in a letter alleging “entirely private and intimate reasons.” In October, he publishes the conference remarks “O destino da literatura” in Revista Souza Cruz. In December, he begins the actual writing of Clara dos Anjos, which he concludes in January of the following year. He sends Francisco Schettino the originals of the chronicles in Feiras e mafuás, which remains unpublished until 1956.

In May, Lima Barreto publishes “O carteiro,” the first chapter of Clara dos Anjos, in the magazine O Mundo Literário. On July 22, in a chronicle in Careta, he characterizes the modernists of São Paulo as “futurists” and makes fun of the magazine Klaxon. He dies the afternoon of November 1, at home, from “thoracic flu” (probably pneumonia) and “heart failure.” The burial takes place the next morning at São João Batista Cemetery, in Botafogo, according to his wishes. In December, Os bruzundangas is published.

In January, Revista Souza Cruz begins publishing Clara dos Anjos, in sixteen installments, up through the May 1924 issue. Bagatelas is published by Empresa de Romances Populares, in Rio de Janeiro.

First edition of the novel Clara dos Anjos is published by Editora Mérito, in Rio de Janeiro.

Francisco de Assis Barbosa publishes A vida de Lima Barreto.

Beginning of the publication of Lima Barreto’s complete works in seventeen volumes, by Editora Brasiliense, organized by Assis Barbosa and with prefaces by renowned intellectuals, including Oliveira Lima, Alceu de Amoroso Lima, João Ribeiro, Sérgio Buarque de Holanda, Lúcia Miguel Pereira and Gilberto Freyre.