This research aims to investigate the trajectory of the literature on civility and the manuals of etiquette in Brazil, reflecting upon core aspects of the histori-cal and cultural context in which they were placed. Using Norbert Elias s concept of civilizing process, it was sought to understand the historical context that marked the arrival of this type of literature in Brazil, especially in the form of eti-quette manuals, as a consequence of the Europeanization of customs initiated with the coming of the Portuguese Court to Rio de Janeiro. An analysis of the discourses present in two manuals of etiquette: New Manual of Good Taste (Verardi, [1857] 1900) and Guide of Good Manners (Carvalho, [1961] 1966) were undertaken. It was sought to draw points of transformation and permanence of the behaviors in the two manuals, focusing on aspects of hygiene, body functions, control of gestures and habits at the table. This work discusses how the normative discourses brought by the literature of civility may reveal the gears of the con-sumption and also the modern society.