Mermaid Singing
Written by Charmian Clift
Narrated by Josie Taylor
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
In 1954 Australian writers Charmian Clift and George Johnston, with children in tow, left grey post-war London for Greece.
Mermaid Singing details the culture shock and sheer delight of their first year on the tiny sponge-fishing island of Kalymnos. Clift paints an evocative picture of the characters and sun-drenched rhythms of traditional life, long before mass tourism descended.
A travel writing classic, available for the first time in twenty years with a new introduction by Polly Samson. "Mermaid Singing" is the companion volume to Peel Me a Lotus.
Charmian Clift was born in New South Wales, Australia in 1923. She became a journalist on the Melbourne Argus after World War II and in 1947 married novelist and journalist George Johnston.
Early in their marriage they collaborated on three novels: the prizewinning High Valley, The Big Chariot and the Sponge Divers. Then in 1954, having lived in London for a few years, they took their family to live in the Greek Islands. During the period Charmian wrote two accounts of their life there, Mermaid Singing and Peel Me a Lotus, and two novels, Honour’s Mimic and Walk to the Paradise Gardens.
In 1964 the family returned to Australia and Charmian began a weekly newspaper column which quickly gained her a wide and devoted readership. She died in 1969.
Polly Samson is an author, lyricist and Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Her most recent novel, the bestselling A Theatre for Dreamers, features Charmian Clift as one of the central characters
Charmian Clift
Charmian Clift was born in Kiama, New South Wales, in 1923. She became a journalist on the Melbourne Argus newspaper after the war, and in 1947 married novelist and journalist George Johnston. Early in their marriage they collaborated on three novels, then, in 1954, they took their family to live in the Greek Islands. There, Clift wrote these accounts of her life and two novels, Honour’s Mimic and Walk to the Paradise Gardens. On returning to Australia in 1964, Clift began writing a weekly newspaper column which quickly gained a wide and devoted readership. She died in 1969.
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