‘Escape to the sun-lit islands.  Clift’s writing is an honest depiction of that ideal to which we all aspire – to live the dream.  What a delight that she should be discovered again’  The Times

The terraced houses shimmer among the prickly pears and aloes. At morning and evening the harbour front seems to slip and slide in a moving green-gold mesh of water reflections

In 1954 Australian writers Charmian Clift and George Johnston left grey, post-war London, with children in tow, for the sunshine of Greece.  After a year on the tiny island of Kalymnos, featured in Mermaid Singing, they settled on Hydra where they became the centre of an informal bohemian community of writers and artists.

With a new introduction by Polly Samson and original illustrations by Nancy Dignan, this is the companion volume to Mermaid Singing.