Alexandros Rizos Rangavis (1809-1892) was an intellectual from the Phanar, a romantic poet of the First Athenian School, a prose writer, a professor of Archaeology at the University of Athens, a politician, and a diplomat. He has been characterized as the "father of modern Greek short stories" as he wrote many short stories at a time when this genre of writing had not yet flourished. The Notary is his most extensive short story and the only one that takes place in Greece.

It is set on the eve of the Greek Revolution, where the young Rodinis, the godson of Count Nannetos, asks the notary Tappas for a loan in order to marry his beloved, the daughter of Voratos. The notary refuses to grant him the loan, questioning his credibility. Eventually, he reveals the secret that Count Nannetos had made him his general heir, instead of his nephew Gerasimos Nannetos, who is a womanizer and a squanderer of fortunes, and has been imprisoned in the past. Due to his behavior, his uncle became ill and disinherited him. Tappas has a daughter, Marina, whom he loves dearly. Tappas informs Gerasimos Nannetos, the suitor of his daughter, about his uncle's intentions and urges him to obtain his signature for a new, favorable will. Voratos was one of Gerasimos Nannetos' victims and Count Nannetos desires the marriage between his daughter and his secretary. The count's will is opened and his nephew becomes the heir.

However, the next day, the count is found dead and Rodinis becomes automatically a suspect. He is arrested, tried, and convicted. Tappas appeared in court and confirmed the will. Tappas' daughter is transferred by her father to Lixouri, near her friend Loukia, the daughter of Count Kanninos. There, Loukia confesses to her friend that she is preparing to marry Marina's lover, Gerasimos Nannetos. Then, Marina is poisoned and dies. Tappas, the father, wanting to avenge his daughter's lover, invites him to a meal and offers him poisoned wine, killing him. Meanwhile, Rodinis is about to be led to the gallows, but at the last moment, he is declared innocent. Gerasimos Nannetos is tried and found dead, while Tappas passes through the Ionian Islands to the Revolutionary Mainland, mocked by the crowd, and finally, in a frenzy, he throws himself into the sea from a high cliff, uttering his daughter's name.