Lygia Fagundes Telles, one of Brazil's most popular writers, was born on 19 April 1924 in São Paulo; she is the daughter of Durval de Azeredo Fagundes, a district chief of police and public prosecutor, and Maria do Rosário Azeredo Fagundes. The family often moved, and Lygia spent her childhood in several towns in the interior of São Paulo state, such as Areias, Assis, Apiaí, and Sertãozinho. Her restless childhood left deep marks on her: constant change must have sharpened her sensations of fear and insecurity.

Telles studied law in São Paulo and began to free herself from her shyness and from the rigid conventions still prevailing in Brazilian society at that time. As society underwent succeeding transformations in the years that followed, Telles gradually gained freedom and assurance.

She is in the habit of saying that she has...