O Reyno das Letras: A cultura letrada no Algarve: o lugar do impresso (1759-1910)

The book studies the geographical and social expansion of the literate printed culture between the middle of the 18th century and the early 20th century. The analysis, discussing the concept of the periphery, aims to help increase knowledge about the con-temporary cultural environment and encourage reflection about the concept of the cul-tural sphere created by the circulation of printed material.
On the one hand, the local institutions and agents that enabled and made the printed culture available are researched, evaluating the motivations and intellectual re-sources behind them. On the other hand, based on the printed items in circulation, a study is carried out of the historical contexts and the specific practices of access to read-ing and writing, characterising the communities – real and imaginary – of readers who, together, but in different ways, designed the pattern of the nineteenth-century literary culture.