English-Language Books Censored during Wartime in <i>Estado Novo</i> Portugal

Authors

  • Zsófia Gombár Centro de Estudos Anglísticos da Universidade de Lisboa (CEAUL), Alameda da Universidade, Faculdade de Letras, 1600–214 Lisbon

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12697/IL.2017.22.1.6

Keywords:

book censorship, books in English, translation, Estado Novo Portugal, Spanish Civil War, Second World War, Portuguese Colonial War

Abstract

Abstract. In contrast to press censorship, books published in Estado Novo Portugal were not subject to a priori censorship, but rather post-publication censorship. Additionally, imported books along with other publications were rigorously examined by custom officials, and private mailing of certain individuals was also monitored by post office clerks. Theoretically, no foreign book could easily enter the country without official inspection. Based on the censorship reports, it seems, however, that the degree of censorship was often fluctuating and uneven. The varying rigor, for the most part, can be put down to historical and political factors such as wars and other domestic conflicts, but there were indeed other types of inconsistencies. Through an exhaustive analysis of selected case studies, the paper also provides detailed insights into the mechanisms of censorship that operated in Salazar-Caetano regime Portugal.

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Published

2017-09-07