Helena Marques's work has made her one of the most recognized Portuguese writers of the end of the twentieth century. Her books, which began appearing in the 1990s, are among the first works in Portuguese literature to portray older and independent women who are accomplished both professionally and personally. Her female characters stand out for the choices they make as they take control of their own destinies in a traditional patriarchal society.

Helena Maria Pereira Gonçalves Marques was born in Carcavelos, Portugal, near Lisbon, on 17 May 1935. Her parents are Ernesto Gonçalves Marques, a radiotelegraphist for the Western Telegraphy Company, and Maria Helena Pereira Gonçalves Marques. When Marques was born, the Western Telegraphy Company, a British manufacturer of underwater cables, had stations in Portugal and in the islands of Madeira and the Azores. At the age of three months Marques was taken to...