Machado de Assis

The grandson of freed slaves, epileptic and a stutterer, Machado left school early and taught himself French, English and Greek while working as a typesetter. He became the finest novelist Brazil has produced.

"The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas", narrated by a dead man, was published in 1881 and reads as though it were written a century later. He founded the Brazilian Academy of Letters and presided over it until his death.