Synopsis
In the de Oliveira Evora family, it was a tradition for the women to
keep a journal to record life’s events. On November 14, 2007, no
ordinary day for the family, Lady Madeira passed, knowingly ending
centuries of a federation of ancestors who had developed a dynasty
with an empire and died like it: a testament to contradictions.
In a compelling intergenerational history extracted from journals
and oral stories, Viberto Rodrigues traces the roots of this Portugese
family from Lisbon to Madeira, England, Brazil, and the United
States of America. After detailing their experiences as early settlers
of the island of Madeira, he discloses how the family used slave
labor in their sugar cane plantations in Brazil, funded their global
business with Jewish capital, and assisted refugees fleeing to the
Americas during the second World War. Rodrigues also shares
glimpses into how a family member worked with the World Health
Organization to eradicate malaria in the Amazon, how their close
relationship with military regimes led the family to seek refuge in
the United States in the 1980s, how the last member of the family
searched for her Jewish father, and much more.
Lady Madeira Saudade is the fascinating intergenerational history
About the author
Viberto Rodrigues is an academic, diplomat, intelligence analyst,
United Nations peacekeeper, and writer. He lives in Forest Hills,
Queens, New York.
