Hydra In Winter: An Island Escape in Search of a Greek Pirate

by Shelley Dark

**Global Book Awards 2025 Gold Medal Winner**

When I land solo on the Greek island of Hydra for two weeks in the dead of winter, I’m not chasing sunny beaches. I’m hunting a pirate — my husband’s great-great-grandfather and Australia’s first Greek convict.

Armed with an umbrella, a cashmere scarf, and zero Greek skills, I’m ready to conquer the archives. But Hydra has other fresh seafood, exhilarating hikes, cats, donkeys, and warm, eccentric locals. What starts as a frantic quest soon turns into a lesson in slow travel, with the bonus of a midlife reset.

“Reading Hydra in Winter is like drinking a bottomless glass of champagne — bubbly, refreshing, and bound to make you laugh.” — Kyra Geddes, author of The Story Thief

Funny, warm, and sparkling, Hydra in Winter will enchant solo travellers, lovers of travel books, history buffs, Philhellenes, aspiring seadogs, procrastinating novelists, seasoned travellers and armchair adventurers, and anyone trying to keep the spark alive at any age.

“Chrónos is the measured, ticking seconds of daily life; kairós represents those rare, significant moments that transcend ordinary time. Hydra is kairós.” — Shelley Dark

Genres: Nonfiction, Adventure, Greece

180 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 28, 2024

About the author

After a lifetime raising cattle on Queensland’s Granite Belt, my husband and I swapped the bush for the Sunshine Coast of Queensland Australia. I’m an award-winning Australian author who travels as often as she can and enjoys iPhone photography. I’m a member of the ALLWRiTE Club and Writers on the Coast Noosa—a generous community of writers whose work and thinking continually stretches my own.

My books include Hydra in Winter (2024), awarded a Gold Medal at the Global Book Awards 2025 (Biographical—Traveler & Explorer), about my trip to the Greek island of Hydra to uncover my husband’s ancestor, Ghikas Voulgaris—Australia’s first Greek convict pioneer. And Son of Hydra (2025), awarded a Silver Medal at the Global Book Awards 2025 (Historical Fiction), inspired by his extraordinary life. Next will come Daughter of Cork, the story of his Irish wife, along with another exciting new narrative non-fiction. My short fiction appears in anthologies.

If you’d like to keep in touch—and maybe join me on the next adventure—I’d love you to subscribe to the readers’ group on my website.

My ultimate mission is the pursuit of the perfect cream bun.

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Shelley discovers that her husband's great, great, grandfather was a Greek pirate, she's fired up with the desire to find out more. But Australia isn't exactly close to the Greek island of Hydra. An enterprising and adventurous lady, she embarks on a solo trip to visit the island, and see what she can find out about his life before he was transported to Australia in his early 20s. Ms Dark is a wonderful writer. She writes amazing descriptions of the island and its people. Although she doesn't speak Greek, she still manages to interact with the islanders, and despite the season, she explores a lot of the island, too. If you're a lover of Greece and its islands you will love this book. If you've never been to Greece, this book will have you itching to buy plane and ferry tickets, and travel to Hydra to discover its magic for yourself.

[Sally Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shelley Dark’s ode to Hydra captures the sensory encounters of travel – a delicate flower hidden in the undergrowth, the moment a knife slices through the crust of fresh-baked bread, the heady flavour of olive oil, the flutter of an orange butterfly – interspersed with fascinating historical information and engaging moments of introspection. As a reader, I witnessed her affinity with the island grow with each new discovery into her family’s history. As a traveller, I was transported back in time to when I once stood looking down at that same perfect harbour.

[Claudia Baldwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shelly Dark embraced travelling andante during her visit to the Greek Island Hydra in the winter tourist off-season. She invites us, the reader, to accompany her on the journey. In preparation she instructs us in the three rules of the art of loitering or wandering aimlessly: letting the day unravel with no plan, going nowhere fast, and letting the world come to you.

Well, that’s just what I did yesterday when I devoured her book in one day. Not only that but the hunger extended to me searching for a recipe for amygdalota biscuits – crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Mine were a humble version of those by her new-found Greek Auntie Flora. I wondered though, are they a bit like the great-great grandfather of her husband, a supposed pirate that she is researching? … the reason for her visit.

This book is a teaser for her upcoming book about this elusive relative, but in the meantime, I have added Hydra and the Greek Islands to my travel bucket list.

Claudia Baldwin

[Peter Barber · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Windswept Wonder – Hydra as You’ve Never Seen It
I was hooked from page one.
Hydra in Winter by Shelley Dark is not your typical Greek island memoir — and thank the gods for that. There are no golden beaches, no slow-motion dancing, and certainly no flaming cheese platters. Instead, Dark gives us something far rarer: truth, told beautifully, from the heart of a storm.
Armed with a suitcase, a journalist’s curiosity, and the unlikely story of her husband’s pirate ancestor, Ghikas Voulgaris, Shelley lands on Hydra in the off-season — when the shutters are closed, the streets are quiet, and the island is, in many ways, more itself. She is there to chase the ghost of a 19th-century rogue who dodged the gallows and ended up a convict in Australia. But what she finds is something deeper: solitude, stillness, and the space to reflect on aging, identity, and the art of starting over.
Hydra itself becomes a character — windswept, moody, and completely indifferent to Shelley’s mission. The beauty of this book lies in that quiet resistance. The story unfolds at the island’s pace, not the writer’s, and it’s all the better for it.
With her dry Aussie humour and clear-eyed honesty, Shelley writes like the friend you’d want beside you on a rain-drenched hike or a long ferry ride. She’s not here to impress, and in doing so, she absolutely does.
Part memoir, part historical treasure hunt, and part portrait of a woman at a crossroads, Hydra in Winter is a compact gem — full of warmth, sharp observation, and a kind of courage that whispers rather than shouts.
Highly recommended. Best read with a blanket, a glass of wine, and the sea in earshot.

[Kyra Geddes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would follow Shelley Dark's sparkling prose to the ends of the earth but Hydra in Winter is an excellent place to start! I stand by my official endorsement: reading this book is like drinking a bottomless glass of champagne - bubbly, refreshing, and bound to make you laugh.

Shelley's voice is utterly disarming - warm, witty and wise. It's as if she's talking to us from across the table, champagne glass in hand, of course. Or more accurately, from the neighbouring seat on the plane and ferry which takes her - and us - to the Greek island of Hydra where together we follow the search for her husband's pirate ancestor. Along the way, we are rewarded with laughs and life lessons aplenty, not to mention a delicious taste of Greek cuisine and culture.

You're going to love it!

[Lin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful little book which should be essential reading for all visitors to Hydra, Greece. Shelley is an Australian who travels to Hydra to investigate her husband’s ancestor Ghikas who was reputed to be a pirate. There are lots of wonderful descriptions of the food , culture and people of Hydra and more specific descriptions of restaurants etc all tied up in Shelley’s thoughts on solo travel, relationships and also the final quarter of life. I found this book inspiring with its theme of its never too late and how the last chapter of life should be just as exciting as the preceding ones. I read this while on holiday in Hydra so it was perfect.

[Linda Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my kind of book on so many counts. Firstly it’s a travel memoir as Shelley travels to Hydra and takes us “buddies” around the sights. Secondly, it’s full of history (my favourite subject), including history of a nation and island people. Thirdly, it’s something of a “Who Do You Think You Are”, a great TV show. Shelly’s husband’s great great great grandfather Ghikas lived on Hydra in the early 1800s, around the time of the Greek War of Independence. He later became a sheep farmer in Australia. A fascinating read, especially if you like travel, history and genealogy. Oh! Did I mention that there’s pirates. It’s an entertaining and informative read. Highly enjoyable. Recommend

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the moment you open the first pages of Hydra in Winter, Shelley's warmth and humour practically jump off the pages as she invites us, the reader, on her incredible journey to the Greek island of Hydra in search of answers pertaining to her husband's great-great-grandfather. A man who happened to be a Greek pirate and one of the first Australian convicts. In her own words, this book is Shelley 'chasing a two-hundred-year-old pirate halfway across the world' and with her vivid descriptions and laugh-out-loud moments, we are right there with her. A fantastic read by a gifted storyteller.

[Fran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shelley Dark has written an engaging ‘come along with me’ story set in idyllic Hydra in Greece. Shelley’s voice is strong as she recounts her quest to find out more about the pirate related to her husband. This is about the journey - the place, walks, food and most of all the people met along the way.
I’ve been to Hydra and I was a keen follower as Shelley explored the small island. I had my map out stepping along with Shelley as she discovered !
I’ll be ready for the next book. Will we discover more about the pirate? It doesn’t really matter as long as the journey is fun.

[Judy Middleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love that the author chose not to go to Hydra in the tourist season and that she wrote this book for us and insisted we come along. Seeing the island authentically, the breathtaking beauty, the warmhearted people and the mouthwatering food was only half the fun. The other half was watching a mysterious family member from long ago come into focus little by little and I’m looking forward to the next in the series.

The beauty of relationships she formed because of a shared love of the land, the water and of history made this story a treasure.

[Teresa Buisman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I agree with much of what other reviewers have said. I'd also like to add that Shelley's reflection on writing, the actual sitting down to write and becoming absorbed in the joy of it, no matter the outcome, resonated with me as someone who writes for pleasure. Also the reflections on aging well, continuing to be active in whatever way we can and keeping interested in life, maintaining a curious and open mind had me nodding along in agreement. It's an easy and joyful read.

[Lyndon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed exploring the cobblestone labyrinth of Hydra with a gifted raconteur. Shelley Dark has shared her experiences on this fascinating island with humour and skill. Shelley's historical research whilst of personal family interest invites the reader to share her adventure. Hydra in Winter is a good read and good fun!
Lyndon

[Kerri Deacon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laugh out loud funny with fascinating historical details, touching personal insights, evocative descriptions of island life and thought-provoking literary quotes. A warm little gem of a book that reflects on aging, adventure and squeezing every drop of juice from life.
I’d travel with Shelley Dark again, wherever she goes.

[Liz C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a delight. Shelley brings you along her journey, as she searches for clues about her husband’s forebear. What will she discover on this adventure? I loved reading about this beautiful Greek island, Hydra and Shelley’s warm interactions with its community. A fun holiday read.

[IngramSpark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This title was selected for IngramSpark's Indie Title Discovery Spotlight 2025!

An incredible adventure told with such warmth, wisdom, and humor. For history lovers, travel enthusiasts, and anyone looking for a charming, hilarious, feel-good read!

[Angelika · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up - it’s a first book after all.

I enjoyed the travel diary with the descriptions of the author’s interactions with the inhabitants of Hydra, it did not spark further curiosity about Ghikas though.

[John Kounas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Disappointment. More a Travel Log of Hydra

Between quoting Klein and worrying about being a writer and a mountain of travel log regarding Island of Hydra. Not what I was looking for. For others enjoyable.

[Megan Walk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally loved it! Funny, fun, fascinating and hard to put down. I look forward to reading Shelley’s next book.

[Nikki Parkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Shelley for finding the joy in writing to bring us the first of I hope many books. I “hear” your voice in each sentence and can’t wait to find out more about Ghikas.

[Shallowreader VaVeros · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable! Such a wonderful story of researching your family ancestry, finding your writing pace, and Hydra in Greeece.

[Di Tate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Devoured in a day! Beautifully written and a joy to read about your adventures in Hydra. Can’t wait to read Son of Hydra.

[Montserrat Bouvier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved going back to Hydra with Shelley, accompanying her on her quest for more details on her ancestor. Easy, fun read.

[Anne Freeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life-affirming!