Pythagorean Crimes

Set in an era witness to some of the most avant-garde and scintillating scientific discoveries and artistic creations of the last century, this novel takes readers behind the scenes and into the lives of many of history’s most fascinating and revolutionary minds, all while posing the question—could a mathematical discovery be so controversial and threatening as to drive one to kill? After the murder of his best friend lands Michael Igerinos in the center of the investigation as the prime suspect, he is transported back to the turn of the 20th Century, into the heart of Bohemian Paris and the sensual, hedonistic pursuits of the artists who haunted its infamous Moulin Rouge. There they are privy to the tormented genius of Toulouse-Lautrec, the twisted, visceral perspective of a young Picasso, and the wild exploits of les artistes de Montmartre. Michael and Stefanos meet at the groundbreaking Second International Congress of Mathematics in 1900, at which the greatest mathematical minds of the 20th Century—Hilbert, Poincaré, Bertrand Russell, Gödel—probed the depths of mathematical mystery and challenged the very foundations on which all of mathematical theory is based. Their mutual passion for uncovering the deepest, most elusive secrets of the universe unites them and their search for mathematical discovery draws them down a dark path whose tragic end neither man could possibly foresee.

About the Author :
Tefcros Michaelides holds a PhD from Pierre et Marie Curie University in Paris, France and was awarded “Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques” by the French Government. He is a Professor of Mathematics at Athens College, Greece. His published works include Mathimatika Epikera (A Mathematician’s View of Everyday Events), and numerous original studies on the role of mathematics in literature from antiquity to the modern era, and from Chinese texts to the newest science-fiction works. He has also translated many books into Greek, including A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson, the widely acclaimed and successful The Parrot’s Theorem by Denis Guedj, Timescape by Gregory Benford, and D’Alembert’s Principle and Mobius Dick by Andrew Crumey.

Review :
Michaelides has provided us with a multi-layered tale. Our heroes find themselves in Paris at the time of major changes in politics and arts. They visit the Moulin Rouge (was Hilbert really there being entertained by dancing girls?) and meet up with the younger artists living in Montmartre, Picasso included. They talk mathematics among themselves and discuss geometry with artists. Igerinos, after his return to Athens, is caught up in the turbulent times of Venizelos’s attempt to reorganize Greek society and his conflict with the Royalists. There is also romance and dealing with underworld criminals to entertain the reader. The whole book is great fun and should appeal to any reader of the Bulletin"". - British Society for the History of Mathematics