Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935) was one of the major poets of the 20th century, one of the major names in Portuguese writing, and one of the most enigmatic figures in world literature of any period. In the words of David Butler in the book's introduction, Fernando Pessoa "wrote into being a heteronymic hall of mirrors from which the myriad image staring out despairs of finding the man who supposedly gave rise to it." Translator David Butler holds a PhD from Trinity College, Dublin and, at the time this book was first published, worked as Education Officer at the James Joyce Centre. He is, in his own right, an accomplished poet and novelist.