Lettres Portugaises published in French in 1669, are celebrated for their lyric beauty. They are the poignant letters of a nun whose French lover deserted her: she was Mariana Alcoforadoborn in Beja in 1640; he was the Comte de Saint-Léger, later Marquis de Chamilly fighting in the restoration wars with Spain. The true authorship of the letters are in doubt but the story of the lovelorn nun endures - Matisse even painted her imaginary portrait. Sentimental visitors to the convent still sigh over “Maraina’s window”
