Giorgi's Greek Tragedy (Giorgis Greek Tragedy) - Softcover

Hager, Pauline

9780741460349: Giorgi's Greek Tragedy (Giorgis Greek Tragedy)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0741460343 ISBN 13: 9780741460349

Publisher: Infinity Publishing, 2013

After the fall of Constantinople (present day Istanbul ), the Ottoman Turkish Empire occupied Greece from 1453 to 1829. Set in the year 1790 in the Taygetos Mountains of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece , the story recounts the tale of eleven-years-old Giorgi and his family. Elite agents of the Ottoman Sultan's Janissary Corps murder his parents and Giorgi longs for revenge. As teenagers, together with his younger brother Yianni, they leave their aunt's home and climb the higher, craggy mountains, seeking to join forces with their childhood hero and guerrilla leader, Kapetan Zaharias, and his outlawed Greek freedom fighters. Ensconced in deep caves, they live and train to battle the Turks. Tragic events continue to shadow Giorgi in his endeavor to fight the Turks.

Residing in the valleys below, the overworked and overtaxed peasants are left to fend for themselves, laboring long hours in the fields to feed their families, and to pay their taxes. Under Turkish rule, Greece was mired in abject poverty. The Turkish pashas ruled with a combination of laxity (change your Christian religion and pay no taxes) or by extortion, (pay the right person and you are left alone.) Other constraints preventing the Greeks from advancement were their deeply rooted, centuries-old Greek traditions. The peasants, especially the widows, were bound to them, crushing any hope of change. In 1821, the peasants rebelled, and with the aid of The Greek Diaspora and The Great Powers of England, France , and Russia , Greece gained her freedom in 1829, when the Treaty of Adrianople was signed. Love of family, love between a man and a woman, and love of country are recurring themes.

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From the Inside Flap:

Many thanks to my daughter-in-law, Hilary Dawson Hager, for her brutal honesty: to author/artist/teacher Liana Metallinou; and author Shirley Ann Parker, for their support and constructive critique. Also to my husband, Randy, who guided me through Microsot Word, and to editors Alexandra Laios, Leslie English, and LinDee Rochell. Their help was invaluable.

I am indebted to Andrew Pagonis, author of Greek Heroes Before and During the War of Independence, for giving me permission to refer to his book regarding the various battles mentioned, and about Kapetan Zaharias. The names of Greek villages and cities and the cathedrals in Mystras exist. Kapetans Zaharias, Androutsos, and Kolokotronis, were real people, including the Greek families mentioned, who contributed to the war effort. The poem "Zaharias the Great" was written in Greek by Mr. Pagonis and translated into English.

From the Back Cover:

A native of Clinton, Massachusetts, a graduate of the University of South Carolina, and a longtime resident of Southern California, Pauline Hager presently lives in La Jolla, California with her husband, Randy. The Hagers lived in Japan from 1994 to 1997. Upon their return, Ms. Hager wrote a book about her fascinating experiences, Memoirs of an American Housewife in Japan. Giorgi's Greek Tragedy is her first novel.

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