Evi Gkotzaridis is a European historian whose work focuses on 20th centuryIrish and Greek history. Her critically acclaimed book Trials of Irish History gave the first detailed analysis of the revisionist debate in Ireland. She has also authored a book called A Pacifist's Life and Death, the first historical biography detailing the life, time and achievements of Grigorios Lambrakis. Lambrakis was an athletic champion, doctor, politician and Greece's most committed defender of democracy and peace. He was mortally struck on the head with a club by Right-wing 'parastate' individuals, shortly after he had delivered the keynote speech at an anti-war meeting in Salonica, on 22 May 1963.
Reviews
Scholarly reviews of Trials of Irish History were positive overall with occasional criticism of her writing style. Matthew Kelly described her book as "underpinned by a remarkable historical intelligence". Bill Kissane of the London School of Economics said the book "defends the revisionists". Brian Girvin of the University of Glasgow wrote that it was a "stimulating book on the Irish revisionist debate." David Fitzpatrick of Trinity College in Dublin described it as "quirky" but was "an exceptionally lively, generous, intelligent, wide-ranging and well-informed tribute to a much maligned but formidable lineage of historians." Martyn Powell described it as "anti-nationalistic" in tone. Scholarly reviews of A Pacifist's life and Death were also positive. Historical journalist Tasos Kostopoulos wrote: "People shape history and yet they are also shaped by it. This simple truth is brought home to us once again by this biography of Grigorios Lambrakis, by historian Evi Gkotzaridis which was published recently in English by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. By recounting the life of the left-wing Greek deputy as a constant interaction with the turbulent developments of the time, the book deals exhaustively with the description of the latter, stressing in particular all those aspects of post-war Greek reality less known to the international readership but which proved decisive to the evolution and death of the subject: a strong police state, a stifling control of parliamentary life, a close monitoring of the country by the former Allies, and the systematic abetment of a fascist deep state with the purpose of suppressing the internal enemy via illegal methods." Historian William Mallinson wrote: "This is not a book for the fainthearted goody-goody 'draw-a-line-under-it' brigade, since it deals with a subject that the gang-ho extreme right-wing part of the Greek Establishment would like to be forgotten. The author's passion is clear. Yet, she manages to detach herself sufficiently to have undertaken wide-ranging research into the environment that led to the brutal killing of Lambrakis. This is a painstakingly researched book, in a positive sense, with a wide range of resources consulted, as befits a serious historian. It is a brave attempt to deal with a subject still considered taboo by much of the Greek Establishment and to remind us of the importance of being vigilant to protect the flawed democracy that still exists in Greece."
Books
A Pacifist's Life and Death: Grigorios Lambrakis and Greece in the Long Shadow of Civil War by Evi Gkotzaridis, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2016 Trials of Irish History: Genesis and Evolution of a Reappraisal 1938—2000 by Evi Gkotzaridis, Routledge, 2006
