Policarpo Quaresma—fastidious civil servant, dedicated patriot, self-styled visionary—is a defender of all things Brazilian, full of schemes to improve his beloved homeland. Yet somehow each of his ventures results in ridicule and disaster. Quixotic and hapless, Quaresma’s dreams will eventually be his undoing. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.