When Shelley jets off for two weeks on Hydra, she’s not seeking a sun-kissed Greek island escape; instead, she’s chasing the story of her husband’s great-great grandfather-Australia’s first Greek convict, and a pirate! Undeterred by chilly rain and zero Greek language skills, she begins her search by appealing for help from the local archivists. But as she samples Hydra’s fresh seafood and hikes the island’s hills, the warm hospitality she encounters transforms her urgent quest into a joyful lesson in slow travel and ignites a new passion: writing. Her diary sparkles with funny observations on everything from powerful ship-owning families (her in-laws!) to the charm of the island’s architecture, and its donkeys. Hydra in Winter is as warm and witty as Bryson and Mayle-but with more pirates. Readers will fall in love with Hydra-and with Shelley herself.
