Abstract
This introduction shows that the first work published by Machado de Assis in book form, Queda que as mulheres têm para os tolos (1861), is indeed a translation of the 1858 edition of Victor Hénaux's essay De l'amour des femmes pour les sots, and neither an original text by Machado, nor an adaptation. The introduction firstly carries out a survey of the most important critics who have discussed the matter of authorship of Queda. Secondly, it makes a comparison between Machado's translation, as it was published both in A Marmota and in book form, and the original text by Victor Hénaux. Finally, it proves that the changes made in the translation from the serial to the book were not mere typographic corrections; they demonstrate, in fact, an improvement in the literary quality of the Brazilian translation, through Machado's efforts to bring it closer to the French original.