For forty years, Fábio Lucas has been studying Machado de Assis’ work. This book gathers revised essays in which the author pinpoints, along this critical journey, unprecedented aspects in the realm of studies about Machado’s work. New interpretations and critical judgments on the occasion of the celebrations of Machado de Assis’ 100th death anniversary have been included. In a fluent and well-structured way, the critic goes about Machado’s literature, linking his work with the several circumstances surrounding it and its importance in world literature.