Wild Abandon

. Well established author with a loyal following, adept at generating press coverage and known for her previous books on Greek island life . Caters for the growing interest in Greece's lesser known islands . Coincides with the 200th anniversary of the Greek War of Independence from Turkey in 2021 About Bradt Travel Guides . Founded in 1974, Bradt is now the largest independent publisher of guidebooks and travel narratives in the UK with over 200 titles in print . WINNER of the Gold award for Best Guidebook Series in the Wanderlust Reader Travel Awards 2018 and 2019 . Bradt books are written by authors who really know their destinations. Many are resident there, or have been visiting regularly over a number of years . Each new Bradt title is backed by a dedicated press and social media campaign

Wild Abandon - Holiday reads and travel literature. Escape with seasoned travel writer Jennifer Barclay as she walks with her dog and her backpack exploring the deserted places of Greece's Dodecanese islands, including Tilos, Nisyros, Kos, Kalymnos, Astypalea, Rhodes, Kastellorizo, Halki, Karpathos, Kasos and Arki."A vivid and intoxicating account of these beautiful islands" - Victoria Hislop. "A must-read for anyone who loves the Greek islands" - Richard Clark 'There's something about abandoned places which moves me and captures the imagination.' So says seasoned travel writer Jennifer Barclay as she walks with her dog and her backpack through the deserted spaces of the Dodecanese, islands that were once bustling but are now half forgotten and reclaimed by the wild due to a mix of misfortune and the lure of opportunity elsewhere. Join her on a journey through abandoned villages and farms, cave-houses and captains' mansions, the homes of displaced Muslim fishermen and poets, as she discovers beauty in the ruins, emptiness and silence, and inspiration in the stories of people's lives. A long-term resident of Greece, Jennifer Barclay spent more than four years researching Wild Abandon, visiting islands multiple times and talking to local people to hear their stories. She travels from the very west to the very east of the Dodecanese, from the very south almost to the very north, taking in some of the smallest and the biggest islands, and highlighting different stories along the way to show the complex history behind these havens of tranquillity. She discovers a villa intended for Benito Mussolini's retirement, an island that links a gramophone from St Petersburg and a portrait in the American National Gallery via a pack of cigarettes, and reflects on the days when an economy based on sponges and burnt rock supported thousands. Wild Abandon is an elegy in praise of abandoned places and a search for lost knowledge through the wildest and most deserted locations.