Martina Kempff

Ostensibly the life of story of Mando Mavrogenous, a heroine of the Greek War for Independence in the 1820s who supported it by giving her dowry away to the cause and even fighting herself. Although the background was the revolution, the main thrust of the story were romances involving two love triangles. The first involved Mando and her cousin Marcus who loved each other through life and a young man, Jakinthos, who died in the revolution. The second triangle involved Mando, Marcus, and Dimitri Ypsilanti, a hero of the revolution, and a man for whom a city in the U.S. was named.

I was disappointed that the novel was not what I expected. The romances and the gratuitous sex scenes were not to my taste.. What was valuable was the "Spurensuche" afterwards in which the author discussed what was true in the novel and what she made up or changed from history, the progress of the revolution, short biographies of some of the main rebels, etc. The portrait on the cover is that of Mando; the original was painted by a Danish artist. I found fascinating the interpretation of the modern Greek flag, what each part stands for.… (mais)