He often felt, along with other writers who had lived outside Portugal (such as Jorge de Sena), that his works of fiction were undervalued by the public and by Portuguese publishers on account of his critical attitude. However, his nomination for the Conselho de Administração of the state publisher, Imprensa Nacional – Casa da Moeda, controverts any idea that he was not relevant to national culture. In this position he promoted editions of classic Portuguese literature, the opening of INCM bookshops in Lisbon, Coimbra, Porto and Rio de Janeiro (the Livraria Camões), and created Conselhos Executivos for numismatics and medallions. In 1974 he was, at his own request, released from his position with the INCM, and from June to October that year wrote the novel Kaos, which was published posthumously by the INCM in 1981, along with the In Memoriam de Ruben Andresen Leitão (a work that can be seen as a public recognition of his contribution to Portuguese culture). On 12 December 1974 he was elected a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters, in the section for Portuguese Corresponding Members. Four days later he was nominated Director-General for Cultural Affairs at the Ministry of Education and Culture. In this capacity he worked for the creation of an Instituto de Restauro [Institute for Restoration], and for the extension of the Museu Soares dos Reis, in Porto; he acquired for the state the Quinta do Monteiro-Mor (now the National Costume Museum) and the papers of Eça de Queiroz from the Tormes Archive. As is evident from the positions he held, both with the INCM and the Ministry of Education and Culture, his contribution to Portuguese culture was not limited to his writings in historiography and fiction, and the public recognition he received from the Portuguese state was greater than he himself had ever expected. In 1975 a long-standing wish was fulfilled with an invitation to teach at Oxford University (St Antony’s College). However, on 17 September of that year, just as he was beginning married life with Maria Luísa Távora, he began a journey to England which had damaging consequences for his health. On 26 September 1975 he suffered a heart attack and died in St George’s Hospital (Hyde Park Corner), where he had been admitted earlier that day. He was buried on 8 October 1975 at the Carreço Cemetery, Viana do Castelo, in accordance with his own wishes.

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