“...At the centre of action and behind the characters who walk the stage of the narrative is what moves and permeates the thoughts of the author: the ideology of renewal and modernisation as a response to the great social, political and economic transformations on the eve of the 20^th century. If and how exactly Themelis is winking his eye at our own day and age (every historical novel being a throw away to the present), the reader will have to decide for himself. That being said, I have to point out to the masterful construction of the narrative, the fully-fashioned characters and the atmospheric feel of the plot.”