Under The Pomegranate Tree

London, June 1976. The hottest, driest summer in living memory. Anthony Childs is a post-graduate student working three jobs, no thanks to 25% inflation and rent-dodging, midnight-flitting housemates.

Exhausted by 9am starts and 4am finishes, he is rescued by the promise of a six-month, rent-free appointment as part-time private assistant to a political exile who returned to Corfu after the military junta’s fall from power. There would be time to recuperate, catch up with writing the thesis and save some cash. How could he refuse?

The rule for best-laid plans is soon borne out. His host’s self-description as a reliable employer is revealed as wishful thinking, and the traveller is quickly back to living on his wits with the aid and encouragement of new friends, acquaintances and students.

Under The Pomegranate Tree is a touching tribute to Greece, its people and the many varied landscapes of Corfu, Athens and Crete.

Illustration: Yiannis Papadopoulos