Crimes of August

TO READERS OF crimes of august IN ENGLISH

THE NOVEL BLENDS historical fact (the assassination attempt against Carlos Lacerda, resulting in the death of Air Force Major Rubens Vaz; the political plot to depose President Getúlio Vargas) with a fictional murder (the death of entrepreneur Paulo Gomes Aguiar). It takes place in Rio de Janeiro, then the nation’s capital, during the period of August 1–25, 1954.

THE THREE POLITICAL PARTIES OF THE ERA WERE:

PSD (Social Democratic Party): Vargas supporters

PTB (Brazilian Workers Party): Vargas supporters

UDN (National Democratic Union): the major opposition party

HISTORICAL FIGURES

FICTIONAL CHARACTERS

Getúlio Vargas, president of Brazil

Carlos Lacerda (“the Crow”), Vargas’s archenemy

Gregório Fortunato (“the Black Angel”), head of the president’s personal guard

Alberto Mattos, a police inspector

Alice Lomagno, Mattos’s onetime girlfriend

Salete Rodrigues, Mattos’s current girlfriend

Pedro Lomagno, Alice’s husband

The political figures depicted are real, with the exception of Senator Vitor Freitas and Luiz Magalhães, who are composites. Cemtex, Brasfesa, and Corpax are fictional firms.