The Crime of Father Amaro: sexing up a classic

Perusing the Guardian's 1000 Books Everyone Must Read, I came across The Crime of Father Amaro, by Eça de Queiroz. I'd watched the 2002 film release, (mainly due to Gabriel Garcia Bernal's presence), the poster for which is shown above, but hadn't realised it was based on a Portuguese classic originally published in 1875. This novel focuses on a young priest in a small Portuguese town, who simply cannot control his manly urges - a problem which has devastating consequences for the girl he becomes involved with, and exposes the hypocrisy and corruption of the priests in the town. Seeing this novel gave me a flash of inspiration: it just looks ripe for reinvention - with a sexy new cover playing up the historical, religious and forbidden lust themes, it could be given a new lease of life.
The author, Eça de Queiroz, is seen as one of the greatest Portuguese authors, and critics have ranked him with Flaubert, Dickens, Balzac and Tolstoy. As he died in 1900 copyright probably wouldn't be a problem.

Looking at the existing English translations available, the covers are very staid and really quite boring. (The US edition uses the same painting on the cover as the UK edition). This novel could be totally reinvented with a new look - striking red and gold with shiny finishes, historical looking font, a yellowed manuscript background or an old church photograph, and maybe an image of a semi-clad nubile young lady... I can see it now!

The timing seems fortuitous too - with scandals of corruption and abuse currently rocking the Catholic Church, the novel's themes are highly topical. A reissue could also almostly certainly garner some media attention - in 2002 the release of the film adaption provoked the the Catholic Church to issue a boycott of the film and protesters gathered outside cinemas. Moreover, in today's book market, there is a huge readership for historical fiction, and the success of Dan Brown et al. has shown that books with themes of religion and corruption are extremely popular.

See below for the excellent reviews this novel has received: 

" (A)n engrossing narrative, related with great control in a sequence of arresting situations involving characters who are often grotesque but unfailingly alive"
The New York Times Book Review

"Although the cruel and pointless institution of celibacy is constantly in Eça's firing line, his major achievement resides in the wonderfully wrought depiction of 1870s Portuguese small-town life, a fragmented patchwork of shadowy whisperings, dubious goings-on and a claustrophobic atmosphere of fear and mistrust."
Times Literary Supplement

"This is a terrific novel... The love story -- as classic as Heloise and Abelard -- provides the motor for Eça's novel, but its chief pleasure derives from its cynical humor, crisp narration and the social interactions of its slightly exaggerated characters, all of them observed by an author with a disdainful acceptance of both human frailty and divine indifference."
The Washington Post