Drawing a portrait of the islands off the coast of Greece, Corfu resident Jim Potts narrates the cultural legacies of this unique place from Homer to modern times.

The Ionian Islands stretch south from the Adriatic, where Corfu’s Pantokrator mountain overlooks Albania across narrow straits, along the western coast of mainland Greece through Paxi, Kephalonia, Ithaca, Lefkada and Zakynthos, to Kythira, midway between Athens and Crete. Three crucial sea-battles were fought here – Sybota (the first recorded), Actium and Lepanto – an indication of the Ionians’ role as an East-West crossroads, between Western Christendom and the Orthodox and Islamic East. Ruled by Venice in her Stato da Mar (sea-empire), the islands became an independent state, as the Septinsular Republic and then, under British Protection, as the United States of the Ionian Islands. Before the mainland Greeks had a State, the Ionian people were proud of having a university – from 1824 – in Corfu town, a World Heritage Site. The islands were united with the Kingdom of Greece in 1864 – the first addition to its territory. This book (with over thirty illustrations) explores the history, archaeology, languages, customs and culture of the Ionian Islands. Without venturing far from the islands, readers will learn much about this distinctive part of the Mediterranean and Greek world. The chapters range from the mythology of the Bronze Age (Homer’s Scheria, where Odysseus startled Nausicaa as she bathed) to today, concentrating particularly on the British Protectorate (1815–1864). One, illustrated by contemporary maps, deals with descriptions of the islands by a fourteenth-century Venetian writing in Latin. The roles of Jews, Souliot refugees, Greek revolutionaries, rebel peasants in Cephalonia, and workers in Corfu’s port suburb of Mandouki are examined in detail. There are contributions on religion and philosophy, as well as literature, music, painting, and the folk-art of carved walking-canes.

Encompassing all six of Greece's island groups - starting in the west with the Ionian islands, moving east to the Argo-Saronics, continuing to the Cyclades, Crete and the Dodecanese, circling up to the North Aegean islands and back round to the Sporades and Evia - "The Secrets of the Greek Islands" highlights some of the most beautiful landscapes and villages of the Mediterranean. From the well known hot spots of Corfu, Rhodes and Kos down to the smaller or lesser known islands such as Meganisi, Poros and Alonnisos, this stunning giftbook takes you on a journey through olive groves, secret coves and white-washed villas clinging to the rocks.

The tang of salt in the air. Sunlight sparkling on clear blue water. Pomegranate seeds glistening like jewels in your palm. Australian artist, designer and photographer Claire Lloyd had a successful career in London, a beautiful apartment and a life filled with excitement and travel. However, she was beginning to feel exhausted by her life's hectic pace. One day a chance conversation with a friend led her to the Greek island of Lesvos, where she finally found what she was looking for - a sense of peace and the return of her creative drive. This book describes Claire's journey to a small village in Greece - the ancient land of gods and poets, where the seasons govern a way of life that has barely changed over thousands of years. Accompanied by Claire's stunning photographs filled with colour and light, this inspirational story of reconnecting with nature and community, and finding beauty in the smallest details, will make you see the world anew. For more please visit: ClaireLloyd.com ClaireLloydloves.wordpress.com

Lose yourself in this dazzling travelogue of the idyllic Greek Islands by the king of travel writing and real-life family member of The Durrells in Corfu. 'Incandescent.' André Aciman 'Invades the reader's every sense ... Remarkable.' Victoria Hislop 'Nobody knows the Greek islands like Durrell.' New York Times White-washed houses drenched in pink bougainvillea; dazzling seascapes and rugged coastlines; colourful harbours in quaint fishing villages; shady olive and cypress groves; terraces bathed in the Aegean sun ... The Greek islands conjure up a treasure-chest of images - but nobody brings them to life as vividly as the legendary travel writer Lawrence Durrell. It was during his youth in Corfu - which his brother Gerald fictionalised in My Family and Other Animals, later filmed as The Durrells In Corfu - that his love affair with the Mediterranean began. Now, in this glorious tour of the Greek islands, he weaves evocative descriptions of these idyllic landscapes with insights into their ancient history, and shares luminous personal memories of his time in the local communities. No traveller to Greece or admirer of Durrell's magic should miss it. 'Masterly ... Casts a spell.' Jan Morris 'Our last great garlicky master of the vanishing Mediterranean.' Richard Holmes 'Like long letters from a civilized and very funny friend - the prose as luminous as the Mediterranean air he loves.' Time

Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin tales are widely acknowledged to be the greatest series of historical novels ever written. Now these evocative stories are being re-issued in paperback by Harper Perennial with stunning new jackets.

A richly rewarding narrative about a young painter's love affair with the Greek island of Sifnos When Christian Brechneff first set foot on the Greek island of Sifnos, it was the spring of 1972 and he was a twenty-one-year-old painter searching for artistic inspiration and a quiet place to work. There, this Swiss child of Russian émigrés, adrift and confused about his sexuality, found something extraordinary. In Sifnos, he found a muse, a subject he was to paint for years, and a sanctuary. In The Greek House, Brechneff tells a funny, touching narrative about his relationship to Sifnos, writing with warmth about its unforgettable residents and the house he bought in a hilltop farm village. This is the story of how he fell in love with Greece, and how it became a haven from the complexities of his life in Western Europe and New York. It is the story of his village and of the island during the thirty-odd years he owned the house—from a time when there were barely any roads, to the arrival of the modern world with its tourists and high-speed boats and the euro. And it is the story of the end of the love affair—how the island changed and he changed, how he discovered he had outgrown Sifnos, or couldn't grow there anymore. The Greek House is a celebration of place and an honest narrative of self-discovery. In its pages, a naïve and inexperienced young man comes into his own. Weaving himself into the life of the island, painting it year after year, he finds a place he can call home.

Story of a painter on vacation and a mistreated donkey.