The Notary
Rating
The Pequod Review:
Published in 1855, Alexandros Rangavis's The Notary is an excellent Greek crime novel, with a number of suitably tragic elements — a dying nobleman (Count Nannetos), two young men who are vying for his valuable estate, a cunning notary who plots a scheme of his own, and an eventual murder. The plot is a simple but highly satisfying one and the characters are quite well-drawn too (easy to do when their passions are so universal). Meanwhile, the story's setting in 1820s Cephalonia just before the Greek Revolution provides a unique backdrop that makes it more interesting than most classic crime fiction.