Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands

It surprises no one that the charming but wayward Vadinho dos Guimaraes–a gambler notorious for never winning—dies during Carnival. His long suffering widow Dona Flor devotes herself to her cooking school and her friends, who urge her to remarry. She is soon drawn to a kind pharmacist who is everything Vadinho was not, and is altogether happy to marry him. But after her wedding she finds herself dreaming about her first husband’s amorous attentions; and one evening Vadinho himself appears by her bed, as lusty as ever, to claim his marital rights.

Jorge Amado was a modernist Brazilian writer. He remains one of the most read and translated Brazilian authors, second only to Paulo Coelho. In his style of fictional novelist, however, there is no parallel in Brazil. His work was further popularized by highly successful film and TV adaptations.
He was a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters from 1961 until his death in 2001. In 1994, his work was recognized with the Camões Prize, the most prestigious award in Portuguese literature.
His literary work presents two distinct phases. In the first, there is a clear social critic and political focus, with works such as Captains of the Sands and Sea of Death standing out.
In his more mature phase, he adopts an aspect of good-humored and sensual chronicler of his people, abandoning ideological motivations, with works such as Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon, The Double Death of Quincas Water-Bray and Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands.

Harriet de Onís was an American translator known for her translations of Latin American literature into English. She played a significant role in introducing Latin American authors to the English-speaking world.