P. is a philosopher by profession whose obtaining of a seat in the Parliament allows him to observe in person what is in reality the policy to which he has dedicated so many hours of theoretical study. From his position he realizes that the realpolitik hardly corresponds with the prenociones that the policy housed. As the only ally to cross this abyss, P. relies on his alter ego, the ghost, with whom he comments and discusses throughout the book the friction or misalignment produced by this contrast. However, instead of allowing himself to be invaded by discontent or to stand in a grandiose attitude, he also learns to admire politicians for acting as a target of the common citizen's frustration and impotence, by allowing him to discharge responsibility for his own existence . The courtier and his ghost are both a fictional chronicle and a political treatise in which Xavier Rubert de Ventós combines his philosophy and his political thinking with his own experience as a deputy. The result is a skeptical but receptive look that scrutinizes every corner of the political fabric without giving up or scandalizing, but taking political reality in its own dimension. Located in a gap between the pomposity of the academy and the cynical pragmatism of the powerful, Rubert de Ventós offers us, from the privileged perspective of those who are not completely outside or inside, a fascinating reflection on the discourse of the politics of his time .