Gallery

Patty's Novels

Books by Patty Apostolides

REVIEW:

Set in Greece in 1837, this is the story of Helena Cadfield, who has just returned from boarding school in Paris to her home in Oxfordshire where she learns her father has died in Greece while excavating treasures on her late mother's property. She wants to go to Greece to claim her inheritance, but she needs funds, so she takes a position as a governess with a family that, fortunately, moves to Greece.

Unaware of Helena’s existence, Dr. Aristotle Mastoras accepts the offer from the Archaeological Society to lead the project investigating the house of the late Dr. Cadfield. Helena meets Aristotle at a court ball in Greece. Many obstacles interfere with their growing affection for each other: jewel thieves; Helena’s former suitor back in England and a German woman who has claims on Aristotle.

Will Helena stay in Greece or return to her beloved Oxfordshire?

This is a romance set in a post war Greece, a country hurting but trying to recover. Told at a leisurely pace, the author conveys many details of Helena's world: her loss of family, her misfortunes and her dawning future. Helena is a resourceful woman and Aristotle a man who knows what he wants. You get a good sense of what Greece was like at the time as Helena and Aristotle search for treasure. - Regan Walker, Award-winning Author. 

---------------------
"For those looking for a wholesome romance to warm the heart this winter, Helena's Choice by Greek American author and poet Patty Apostolides is a good read, set in the 19th century." - The National Herald. 


REVIEW:

Lipsi's Daughter brings forth a fresh voice in an age-old world. The Greek characters spring to life with their hopes, dreams, and fears. Filled with important family values, educational ideals, and an underlying spiritual foundation, this story is sure to please young and old alike. -” Dr. Constantine Papadakis,  President, Drexel University
-------
This sweet romance, which follows a young Greek woman's journey from a Greek island to mainland Greece to America, was a delight to read, with plenty of action and suspense. The Greek culture and its intricate variations are cleverly woven into the novel's tapestry of human relations. -Marilyn Rouvelas, author of A Guide to Greek Traditions and Customs in America 
------
WOW! That is the only word I can think of to describe this novel. The story of Ipatia Kouris and Tony Plakis is the most innocent, fascinating story I have ever read. The love that transpires between these two young people is wonderfully put on paper. ...I really enjoyed everything about it and I have every intention of reading it again. - Tracy Amor 2004 

---------------
Video - Author reading Chapter 1 of Lipsi's Daughter with sound effects and photos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmHk3J8GdJc

REVIEWS:

Apostolides' latest novel, "The Greek Maiden and the English Lord," has no explicit sex or violence. It's a multilayered, cross-cultural story of love and loss set mostly in England in the early 1830s. - Chris Copley, Herald Mail

--------
Patty Apostolides' historical novel The Greek Daughter and the English Lord succeeds in conveying to the reader the nineteenth-century nobility and lifestyle of the British aristocrats, outlining mainly the English province.

At the same time it refers to the period of the Revolution of 1821, mentioning aspects of historical Greek reality, such as the involvement of foreign forces among the Greeks during the struggle, the sale of the captives as slaves by the Ottomans, the nomads of the gypsies in the margin of historical events.

The author focuses more on narratives directly related to the plot of her work, outlining the historical context, without aiming at the more extensive reconstruction or outline of historical events and environments themselves.

The history is in the years 1831-1837; for the newly established Greek state, this includes the last two years of the diplomatic settlement of the Greek question and the first years of King Otto's rule; for the British Empire, it covers the eve of the important constitutional reforms within the wider European reforms of the 1830-1840 decade.

Consequently, the story is about the developments in English society that are sealed by weddings of wealthy bourgeois with nobles. The main backdrop of history is placed in the English countryside a few hours away from London: the Greyston Manor Girls' Boarding School, the Peterborough and the Montgomery Mansions. These houses mainly describe the secondary characters of storytelling with their virtues and weaknesses, covering a wide range of characters in society.

Patty Apostolides' painting is complete, including good-natured characters, moral, virtuous, true, interdependent, and also unscrupulous, harsh, immoral, interest-oriented, selfish, responsible, shallow, and conventional. This character canvas with their actions and choices highlights the particular charms and qualities of the central character, Lily Montgomery, outlined in narration as almost a perfect character pattern.

Young Lily combines the freedom, spontaneity and righteousness of the gypsies who nurtured her without contracts and hypocrisy along with the kindness of her origin and the noble nature of her character who was strengthened by her education at the girls' school. The Greek daughter is virtuous, innocent, full of goodness, dignity and understanding, with faith in friendship. She has an exceptional endurance that stems from her inner world, and holds a charming, empowering power that attracts the virtuous people close to her.

Through Lily's character, the author presents her worldview for life, giving optimism to her readers and reinforcing the writer's conviction for the power of Virtue and Good. More specifically, behind the narrative events, the deeper belief that the virtuous character will be justified by life is overwhelming with the terrible trials, injustices and frustrations. The man who draws strength from his moral composition and the high emotion of his spirit remains unwavering in the blows of life as to the integrity of his character, in order to promote his life and his society with this attitude.

In conclusion, the novel of the author, Patty Apostolides, is a work devoted to research, content and writing, and especially to the two most important virtues of fiction, namely to achieve fascination in reading and to excite the reader by inspiring him/her for a meaningful, meaningful life and purpose. - Dr. Polyvia Parara, University of Maryland, Department of Classics 

------
BOOK TRAILER:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WP0qxCUshNk

GREEK VERSION by Seaburn Books:
https://www.amazon.com/Greek-Maiden-English-Lord/dp/1592323707/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=patty+apostolides+greek+version&qid=1612304316&sr=8-1

REVIEWS:

"Patty Apostolides' novel, which takes place on a "typical" Greek Island, Kos, is truly a proper follow-up to "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" although it comes from a different direction - Americans experiencing the Greek culture in Greece." - Michael Bilirakis, former Congressman

---------
"What impressionism achieved on the canvass, Patty Apostolides seems to accomplish on the printed page - and her psychological insights are remarkable. A stunning achievement!" - Nicholas D. Kokonis, Ph.D., Author of the award-winning novel Arcadia, My Arcadia

----------
"Patty Apostolides has done it again! Just as in Lipsi's Daughter, The Lion and the Nurse captures the beauty and charm of a Greek island in a love story that is more than a love story. This romance about Cassiani, a nurse who returns to Kos to help her ailing mother, is also about the triumph of eternal, values, such as truth and caring, over materialism and deception. It is also about the loneliness and the struggles of two widows and about how love transcends all planes, even in modern times. This book is a real page-turner. I couldn't put it down!" - Aphrodite Matsakis, Ph.D., Author of Growing Up Greek in St. Louis 

--------
Audio excerpts by the author:

Prologue :
The Lion and the Nurse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOzJjoFVeno

Chapter 1:
The Lion and the Nurse
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtxFEtoetww

This inspirational collection of poems is divided into four sections: Spiritual Reflection; Reflections of Love; Journey through the Seasons of Life and Beyond; and Greek Reflections, My Roots.