The Shepherd's House

Seventeen stories. Nine translators. The Shepherd’s House is the result of a unique transatlantic collaboration, uniting talents from across Europe and the United States. First published in Portugal as A Casa do Pastor, this slender collection of stories by Olinda Beja draws on oral histories, ancestral memory, and the author’s pastoral childhood in Portugal’s Beira Alta region. Skillfully edited by acclaimed translator Margaret Jull Costa, these stories appear in English in book form for the first time.

Rooted in the fantastical tales passed down by her grandmother and the vivid recollections of octogenarian shepherd João Grilo, Beja brings to life the soul of a culture, paying homage to “the last generation of shepherds, leaving the hills […] silent, empty of sounds and footsteps, stories and murmurings.” Born in São Tomé and Príncipe and raised in Portugal, Beja writes from the liminal space between two worlds: the São Toméan and the Lusitanian. Rather than elevating one over the other, she weaves them together, drawing deeply from her island heritage to illuminate the spirit of her homeland. From lively saints’ festivals and harsh hilltop justice to the ache of lost love and stories steeped in magic and mischief, Beja infuses each tale with warmth and reverence. Her voice is intimate and assured, carrying the rhythms, memories, and soul of a bygone world. The Shepherd’s House is both a poignant witness to a vanishing way of life and a testament to the enduring power of storytelling.