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Other Book Reviews Home Pelé's Santos Charles Miller My name is Josh Lacey, and I am writing a biography of Charles Miller. If you have read Alex’s book, you will already know who Miller was and what he did. Charles Miller was born in Sao Paulo of a Scottish father and an English mother. Like many sons of British expatriates, he went “back home” for his education. At the frail age of nine, he was put on a ship at Santos and sent to boarding-school in Southampton. Ten years later, in 1894, he sailed back to Brazil. On the long voyage, he practised his ball skills, dribbling from one end of the ship’s deck to the other. From his education, he had learnt only one lesson that really mattered to him: the rules of football. When Charles Miller arrived in Brazil, he discovered to his horror that no-one knew how to play the beautiful game. The expatriate community had retained many British customs - cricket on Saturdays, afternoon tea at four, visiting-cards on silver trays - but not football. Charles had found his mission. He summoned his friends and colleagues, divided them into two teams and explained the rules. To Top The British community in Brazil was numerically small, but they exerted a disproportionately large influence on the country’s development– bringing not just football but railways, huge bank loans and so on. I would love to hear from anyone whose family formed part of this community during the second half of the 19th Century and the first half of the 20th Century. Do you have any mementoes, letters or diaries? If so, I would be fascinated to see them. Aside from the vital act of bringing football to Brazil, Miller led an intriguing life. He lived in Sao Paulo, and watched it grow from a little town to a vast metropolis. He was involved with the Sao Paulo Railway and the Royal Mail Line, and started his own travel agency. His wife, Antonietta Rudge, was one of the greatest Brazilian pianists. Athough they later separated, Miller was a great help to Antonietta, supporting her career and arranging her European tours. Fifty years after his death, Charles Miller has been forgotten. In Brazil, people know his name and a few inaccurate myths about his life, but nothing more. In Britain, hardly anyone even knows his name. His wife and her music have been forgotten too. And the British contribution to Brazilian history is now almost unknown. I hope my book will change this. I would be very interested to hear from anyone who has any information about Miller himself, his family, or the British community in Sao Paulo and Santos a hundred years ago. If you have any questions, suggestions or ideas, please get in touch with me at the following address: josh@joshlacey.com To Top Futebol: The Brazilian Way of Life Email: Copyright © 2005 by Alex Bellos. Published by Bloomsbury, New York and London. Distributed to the trade by Holtzbrinck Publishers.