[Possible project] Iracema, by José de Alencar (trans. Isabel Burton)
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Hendrik Kaiber
Jan 14, 2026, 8:11:28 PMJan 14
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I'm waiting for a new review for my current project, and after it finishes I would like to start my next one. For that, I propose Iracema, by José de Alencar, translated by Isabel Burton.
It is a very short work, about 33k words in total, which would technically make it part of an omnibus, but I think an exception should be made. The author wrote mainly novels and plays (most not translated yet), and this book is one of Brazil's most important literary works, widely sold, read and discussed as a standalone title.
The English title was rendered as Iraçéma, but the correct spelling is Iracema (it is a somewhat popular female given name). The different spelling chosen by Burton looks and sounds very strange, so I would change it to the original spelling.
I have this novel at PGDP, and I planned in using the future PG edition, but it seems that it will take a long time, so I thought I should use the wikisource version, which is good enough for us. Here are the scans.
Can I work in it?
—Hendrik
Alex Cabal
Jan 15, 2026, 1:33:12 PMJan 15
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33k words is extremely short. What does the rest of his corpus look like
length wise?
On 1/14/26 7:11 PM, Hendrik Kaiber wrote:
> I'm waiting for a new review for my current project, and after it
> finishes I would like to start my next one. For that, I propose /
> Iracema/, by José de Alencar, translated by Isabel Burton.
> is /Iracema/ (it is a somewhat popular female given name). The different
> Ira%C3%A7%C3%A9ma:_the_Honey-lips,_a_Legend_of_Brazil> version, which is
> good enough for us. Here are the scans <https://archive.org/details/
> iramahoneylipsle00alen>.
>
> For the cover, there is a very good painting <https://
> commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iracema.jpg> (PD proof <https://
> www.google.com.br/books/edition/Um_seculo_de_pintura/E7FFAQAAMAAJ?hl=pt-
> BR&gbpv=1&dq=Iracema&pg=PA243&printsec=frontcover>), which depicts the
> burton>
>
> —Hendrik
>
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length wise?
On 1/14/26 7:11 PM, Hendrik Kaiber wrote:
> I'm waiting for a new review for my current project, and after it
> Iracema/, by José de Alencar, translated by Isabel Burton.
>
> It is a very short work, about 33k words in total, which would
> technically make it part of an omnibus, but I think an exception should
> be made. The author wrote mainly novels and plays (most not translated
> yet), and this book is one of Brazil's most important literary works,
> widely sold, read and discussed as a standalone title.
>
> The English title was rendered as /Iraçéma/, but the correct spelling
> It is a very short work, about 33k words in total, which would
> technically make it part of an omnibus, but I think an exception should
> be made. The author wrote mainly novels and plays (most not translated
> yet), and this book is one of Brazil's most important literary works,
> widely sold, read and discussed as a standalone title.
>
> is /Iracema/ (it is a somewhat popular female given name). The different
> spelling chosen by Burton looks and sounds very strange, so I would
> change it to the original spelling.
>
> I have this novel at PGDP, and I planned in using the future PG edition,
> but it seems that it will take a long time, so I thought I should use
> the wikisource <https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/
> change it to the original spelling.
>
> I have this novel at PGDP, and I planned in using the future PG edition,
> but it seems that it will take a long time, so I thought I should use
> Ira%C3%A7%C3%A9ma:_the_Honey-lips,_a_Legend_of_Brazil> version, which is
> good enough for us. Here are the scans <https://archive.org/details/
> iramahoneylipsle00alen>.
>
> For the cover, there is a very good painting <https://
> commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iracema.jpg> (PD proof <https://
> www.google.com.br/books/edition/Um_seculo_de_pintura/E7FFAQAAMAAJ?hl=pt-
> BR&gbpv=1&dq=Iracema&pg=PA243&printsec=frontcover>), which depicts the
> titular character.
>
> Can I work in it?
>
> Empty repo <https://github.com/HendrikBK/jose-de-alencar_iracema_isabel-
>
> Can I work in it?
>
> burton>
>
> —Hendrik
>
> --
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Hendrik Kaiber
Jan 15, 2026, 2:15:50 PMJan 15
to Standard Ebooks
It's hard to say exactly, since almost nothing of his corpus was translated into English, and thus the word-count can vary. A superficial search (based on the word-count of the originals) tells me that most of his novels would be standalone productions, and only some untranslated works would be considered short fiction. The only other works that I could confirm were translated are The Guarani and Senhora, both which are about 100k in their original form. The Guarani has a pd translation and could be produced after a transcription is made, but it would certainly be standalone.
I though an exception could be made due to the lack of translations of short fiction works and the great cultural impact of this work in its native country, but if you disagree with this approach I can let it go for now.
Alex Cabal
Jan 16, 2026, 12:27:01 PMJan 16
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Whether or not the shorts are *currently* translated is less important
than how many exist. Someone could do a PD translation in the future.
How many other shorts does he have in his corpus?
On 1/15/26 1:15 PM, Hendrik Kaiber wrote:
> It's hard to say exactly, since almost nothing of his corpus was
> translated into English, and thus the word-count can vary. A superficial
> search (based on the word-count of the originals) tells me that most of
> his novels would be standalone productions, and only some untranslated
> works would be considered short fiction. The only other works that I
> could confirm were translated are /The Guarani /and /Senhora/, both
> which are about 100k in their original form. /The Guarani/ has a pd
> > the wikisource <https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/ <https://
> en.wikisource.org/wiki/>
> alencar_iracema_isabel->
> > standardebooks/3f8d4ab1-da87-433b-ada8-
> a907851ea012n%40googlegroups.com <http://40googlegroups.com>
> > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/standardebooks/3f8d4ab1-
> da87-433b- <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/
> standardebooks/3f8d4ab1-da87-433b->
> > ada8-a907851ea012n%40googlegroups.com?
> utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer <http://40googlegroups.com?
> utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>>.
> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/standardebooks/763d9ce6-9061-4bc3-
> b124-9cdc260b5c6dn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>.
than how many exist. Someone could do a PD translation in the future.
How many other shorts does he have in his corpus?
On 1/15/26 1:15 PM, Hendrik Kaiber wrote:
> It's hard to say exactly, since almost nothing of his corpus was
> translated into English, and thus the word-count can vary. A superficial
> search (based on the word-count of the originals) tells me that most of
> his novels would be standalone productions, and only some untranslated
> works would be considered short fiction. The only other works that I
> which are about 100k in their original form. /The Guarani/ has a pd
> en.wikisource.org/wiki/>
> > Ira%C3%A7%C3%A9ma:_the_Honey-lips,_a_Legend_of_Brazil> version,
> which is
> > good enough for us. Here are the scans <https://archive.org/
> details/ <https://archive.org/details/>
> which is
> > good enough for us. Here are the scans <https://archive.org/
> > iramahoneylipsle00alen>.
> >
> > For the cover, there is a very good painting <https://
> > commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iracema.jpg <http://
> >
> > For the cover, there is a very good painting <https://
> commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iracema.jpg>> (PD proof <https://
> > www.google.com.br/books/edition/Um_seculo_de_pintura/
> E7FFAQAAMAAJ?hl=pt- <http://www.google.com.br/books/edition/
> > www.google.com.br/books/edition/Um_seculo_de_pintura/
> Um_seculo_de_pintura/E7FFAQAAMAAJ?hl=pt->
> > BR&gbpv=1&dq=Iracema&pg=PA243&printsec=frontcover>), which
> depicts the
> > titular character.
> >
> > Can I work in it?
> >
> > Empty repo <https://github.com/HendrikBK/jose-de-
> alencar_iracema_isabel- <https://github.com/HendrikBK/jose-de-
> > BR&gbpv=1&dq=Iracema&pg=PA243&printsec=frontcover>), which
> depicts the
> > titular character.
> >
> > Can I work in it?
> >
> > Empty repo <https://github.com/HendrikBK/jose-de-
> alencar_iracema_isabel->
> > burton>
> >
> > —Hendrik
> >
> > --
> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
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> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/>
> >
> > —Hendrik
> >
> > --
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Hendrik Kaiber
Jan 16, 2026, 12:31:50 PMJan 16
to Standard Ebooks
Besides Iracema, I believe only three more, between 20k and 40k words.
Weijia Cheng
Jan 16, 2026, 1:28:53 PMJan 16
to Standard Ebooks
I'm guessing that the "orthodox" solution to this problem will be compiling the spreadsheet for his bibliography and putting this story into a shorts collection with only one story for now. Let's see if I guessed correctly :)
Alex Cabal
Jan 17, 2026, 2:36:36 PMJan 17
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I agree, this should go in a shorts collection, though it seems kind of
silly to have an omnibus with just one item. On the other hand it would
be much more annoying to do this separately and then have to merge it
into an omnibus later, because then we'd have to redirect the URL.
Let's put this aside for now and see if any PD English translations of
his other stories surface.
On 1/16/26 12:28 PM, 'Weijia Cheng' via Standard Ebooks wrote:
> I'm guessing that the "orthodox" solution to this problem will be
> compiling the spreadsheet for his bibliography and putting this story
> into a shorts collection with only one story for now. Let's see if I
> guessed correctly :)
>
> On Friday, January 16, 2026 at 12:31:50 PM UTC-5 hendrik....@gmail.com
> wrote:
>
> Besides /Iracema/, I believe only three more, between 20k and 40k words.
> en.wikisource.org/wiki/> <https://
> > en.wikisource.org/wiki/ <http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/>>
> > details/ <https://archive.org/details/ <https://archive.org/
> > E7FFAQAAMAAJ?hl=pt- <http://www.google.com.br/books/edition/
> github.com/HendrikBK/jose-de->
> > alencar_iracema_isabel- <https://github.com/HendrikBK/jose-
> de- <https://github.com/HendrikBK/jose-de->
> groups.google.com/d/msgid/>>
> > > standardebooks/3f8d4ab1-da87-433b-ada8-
> > a907851ea012n%40googlegroups.com <http://40googlegroups.com>
> <http://40googlegroups.com <http://40googlegroups.com>>
> > > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/standardebooks/3f8d4ab1-
> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/standardebooks/3f8d4ab1->
> > da87-433b- <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/ <https://
> groups.google.com/d/msgid/>
> > standardebooks/3f8d4ab1-da87-433b->
> > > ada8-a907851ea012n%40googlegroups.com
> <http://40googlegroups.com>?
> > utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer <http://40googlegroups.com
> <http://40googlegroups.com>?
> > standardebooks/763d9ce6-9061-4bc3-
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> d0ed-46b3-9055-9e72f971f0e1n%40googlegroups.com?
> utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>.
silly to have an omnibus with just one item. On the other hand it would
be much more annoying to do this separately and then have to merge it
into an omnibus later, because then we'd have to redirect the URL.
Let's put this aside for now and see if any PD English translations of
his other stories surface.
On 1/16/26 12:28 PM, 'Weijia Cheng' via Standard Ebooks wrote:
> I'm guessing that the "orthodox" solution to this problem will be
> compiling the spreadsheet for his bibliography and putting this story
> into a shorts collection with only one story for now. Let's see if I
> guessed correctly :)
>
> On Friday, January 16, 2026 at 12:31:50 PM UTC-5 hendrik....@gmail.com
> wrote:
>
> > en.wikisource.org/wiki/ <http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/>>
> > > Ira%C3%A7%C3%A9ma:_the_Honey-
> lips,_a_Legend_of_Brazil> version,
> > which is
> > > good enough for us. Here are the scans <https://
> archive.org/ <https://archive.org/>
> lips,_a_Legend_of_Brazil> version,
> > which is
> > > good enough for us. Here are the scans <https://
> > details/ <https://archive.org/details/ <https://archive.org/
> details/>>
> > > iramahoneylipsle00alen>.
> > >
> > > For the cover, there is a very good painting <https://
> > > commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iracema.jpg <http://
> commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iracema.jpg> <http://
> > > iramahoneylipsle00alen>.
> > >
> > > For the cover, there is a very good painting <https://
> > > commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iracema.jpg <http://
> > commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iracema.jpg <http://
> commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iracema.jpg>>> (PD proof <https://
> > > www.google.com.br/books/edition/Um_seculo_de_pintura/
> <http://www.google.com.br/books/edition/Um_seculo_de_pintura/>
> commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iracema.jpg>>> (PD proof <https://
> > > www.google.com.br/books/edition/Um_seculo_de_pintura/
> > E7FFAQAAMAAJ?hl=pt- <http://www.google.com.br/books/edition/
> <http://www.google.com.br/books/edition/>
> > Um_seculo_de_pintura/E7FFAQAAMAAJ?hl=pt->
> > > BR&gbpv=1&dq=Iracema&pg=PA243&printsec=frontcover>), which
> > depicts the
> > > titular character.
> > >
> > > Can I work in it?
> > >
> > > Empty repo <https://github.com/HendrikBK/jose-de- <https://
> > Um_seculo_de_pintura/E7FFAQAAMAAJ?hl=pt->
> > > BR&gbpv=1&dq=Iracema&pg=PA243&printsec=frontcover>), which
> > depicts the
> > > titular character.
> > >
> > > Can I work in it?
> > >
> github.com/HendrikBK/jose-de->
> > alencar_iracema_isabel- <https://github.com/HendrikBK/jose-
> de- <https://github.com/HendrikBK/jose-de->
> > alencar_iracema_isabel->
> > > burton>
> > >
> > > —Hendrik
> > >
> > > --
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> > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/ <https://
> > > burton>
> > >
> > > —Hendrik
> > >
> > > --
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Hendrik Kaiber
Jan 17, 2026, 2:48:00 PMJan 17
to Standard Ebooks
Ok. I'll propose something else and maybe we can revisit this in the future.
—Hendrik
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