ALMEIDA, JOS VALENTIM FIALHO DE

born 1857, Vila de Frades, Port. died March 4, 1911, Alentejo Portuguese short-story writer and political essayist of the realist-naturalist period. Almeida's serial story collection Os Gatos (188993; The Cats) is a satiric, caricatural depiction of Lisbon life and customs of the period. In O Pas das Uvas (1893; Vineyard Country) and other short-story collections, he offers lively, earthy descriptions of rural Portuguese life, which he contrasts favourably with the decadence of the cities. Other collections of short narratives in the satiric vein are Pasquinadas (1890; Lampoons), Vida Irnica (1892; Ironic Life), and Lisboa Galante (1890; Courtly Lisbon).