How much does the personal life of the protagonists of history influence their political actions, and conversely, how much does public exposure affect their private affairs? This is what the book in your hands investigates.

Because it is difficult to understand the decisions of a public figure without knowing their unspoken needs, their traumas. If you don't know what Beloyannis meant to Elli Pappa, how can you justify her decision to give birth to his child, even though she was married to another, imprisoned, and sentenced to death? How can you interpret Andreas Papandreou's disruptive stance toward the Center Union if you don't know the abyss that separated him from his father? And why did Pavlos let Frederica transition from queen to king?

I chose to talk about couples because in love and cohabitation we are all exposed and naked, whole. Of course, I constantly heard the counterargument in my ears: How can I guess the dynamics of a couple, how can I summarize their light and darkness? However, doubt did not stop me; it simply nourished the allure of the research.

I dove headfirst into their lives and literally fell in love with them while trying to see through their eyes. I didn't just want to rummage through their drawers; I wanted to understand the limitations that society imposed on them back then, to flesh out the paper figures of the headlines.

I selected the most influential couples, the most intense ones to cover the history of Greece from 1821 to the junta. The men are protagonists due to the era, but the women in their lives are equally significant, fiery figures. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed this balancing act between history and literature.

Lena Dīvani