Dinis, Julio: - Júlio Dinis was the pseudonym of Joaquim Guilherme Gomes Coelho. Born in Oporto in 1839, he went on to train and practise as a doctor. However, when diagnosed with tuberculosis, he resigned his post as professor at the medical school in Oporto and began writing novels. He had previously written and published several short stories, but his first novel, published initially in serial form, met with instant success, and his works remain popular to this day. He died when he was only thirty-one in September 1871. This is the first English translation of his work.