Abstract
In June 1882, Aluisio Azevedo publishes two letters in Gazetinha addressed to Giovani, the pseudonym of a reader (perhaps Machado de Assis) who criticized his Memórias de um condenado [Memoirs of a convict], a feuilleton printed by the same publication. Gazetinha does not provide the original letters, and the name of their author remains unidentified, suggesting Giovani's desire for privacy. Aluísio, however, ignores this intimation and discusses Giovani's ideas to explain the concerns of Brazilian writers who, like him, are torn between creating innovative and contemporary works and accepting market constraints, which favor mass literature consumption.
Aluísio Azevedo; Memórias de um condenado; Gazetinha; Machado de Assis