I OWE VERY special thanks to Elizabeth A. Jackson, who made valuable comments on the manuscript at every stage with her usual sharp eye, as well as to the helpful suggestions of the readers and editors contacted by Yale University Press. I am grateful for the excellent introduction to the works of Machado de Assis I received in seminars with Jorge de Sena and lectures by Antônio Cândido at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. I also wish to recognize students and colleagues who contributed their insights into the reading and interpretation of Machado’s works over the years in seminars at the University of Texas at Austin and Yale University and in conferences of professional associations. I especially thank Steve Wasserman, my editor at Yale University Press, who has provided professional guidance and wise advice at critical points. The greatest debt of all must be to Machado de Assis for his example of a life lived intensively in a world theater and library of arts and letters.