In 1951, Australian writers Charmian Clift and George Johnston left the gray, post-war London for Greece. They initially settled on the small island of Kalymnos and later moved to Hydra, aiming to live simply and focus on their writing, away from the noise of the big city. The result is two of Charmian Clift's most well-known and beloved books, the memoirs "Mermaid Singing" and "Peel Me a Lotus." "Mermaid Singing" captures the cultural shock and joy of their first year on the small island of Kalymnos. Clift creates a vivid picture of the characters and sun-soaked rhythms of traditional life, before the arrival of backpackers and mass tourism. In Hydra, described in the accompanying volume "Peel Me a Lotus," Clift and Johnston became the center of an informal community of artists and writers, including the then-unknown Leonard Cohen, who lived with them, and his future partner Marianne Ihlen.