Who was Charilaos Trikoupis? The restless columnist of "Who is to Blame?", the troubled prime minister of "Unfortunately, we have gone bankrupt", but also the optimistic politician of "Greece is destined to live and will live". The founder of Greek parliamentarism, the prime minister of modernization, and the father of Greek railways. This biography sheds light on his political profile, his career, the work he left behind and what he did not manage to accomplish, his achievements, and his mistakes. By placing him within his political and social environment, it describes the reality of his time and his efforts to overcome it. Through his personal correspondence, the press of the time, and the discussions in Parliament, his robust personality and modernizing politics are highlighted. At the same time, his daily life is recreated and his private life is explored, with elements that often surprise us.

Through the narrative of Charilaos Trikoupis' life, from his birth in 1832 to his death in 1896, the images of Greece's history come to life, from its independence and the monarchy of Otto to the constitutional monarchy of George I. Thus, the gradual development and evolution of the country, which he himself struggled to bring to a European level, are simultaneously recounted.

Trikoupis was one of the privileged of his time, as he spent many years of his youth in Paris and London, acquiring European experience and a cosmopolitan mindset that made him different from other political leaders of the 19th century. A member of Parliament at 33, a minister at 34, a party leader at 40, and a prime minister at 43, he dominated the political life of the country from 1875 to 1895, with joys, satisfactions, and recognitions, but also with sorrows and disappointments. He lived a full life, which is depicted and brought to life in this biography. By framing the narration of significant events with the inclusion of small details, the book helps the reader to recreate in their imagination not only the image and personality of Trikoupis but also the surrounding atmosphere of his time.