GREEK LETTERS: Volume One BEFORE — Suzi Stembridge

In 1827 Samuel Carr leaves his home in Didsbury in Cheshire. This mild mannered young man is completely oblivious that his spontaneous decision to travel to Greece, fighting for its independence, will have a huge effect on his descendants. His travels take him to the scene of the Battle of Trafalgar near Cadiz and on to witness the Battle of Navarino in the Peloponnese; scenes he never imagined in his wildest dreams - and the dreams of this sensitive young man are wild. Nor will he realise that history will see this as the turning point when the Ottomans relinquished their hold on Greece and a decisive point in the decline of the Ottoman Empire. Travelling on a brig sailing down the Atlantic coast to the Iberia Peninsula his aim is to reach the Morea (the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece) to become a Philhellene to help the 'cause' of the Greeks in their War of Independence; following in the footsteps of Lord Byron, to whom he likes to think he is distantly related. Struggling with his sexuality he might be considered something of an anti-hero, forming strong bonds with the characterful men and women he meets on his odyssey. These early tourists journey through Portugal, Spain and the Mediterranean and through the wild mountainous and coastal paths of early nineteenth century Greece, with Samuel stumbling on ancient ruins such as Olympia and Vassae, caught up with the history and culture of Greece. But the effort required to reach the slightly more civilised city of Nafplio, the first capital of Greece, challenges them all, proving that plans and wishes may not run true in times of war and austerity. The GREEK LETTERS quartet is part of a series charting the fortunes and adventures of Rosalind, her ancestors, her partners and offspring and their family and friends, over two centuries, entitled Jigsaw.The Author: Suzi Stembridge lives in Yorkshire with her family and was educated at Penrhos College, North Wales and at the Open University. She has worked in travel most of her earlier life and was the founder and Managing Director of Filoxenia Ltd, the Greek tour operator, until it was sold in 2004, as well as the travel agency Greco-file and has travelled extensively in Greece and the rest of Europe. For the last ten years she has devoted her time to creating these eight novels - which - should you wish - could be read as one long saga. That said all could be read independently and in any order.All the works in the series have a historical setting, together with a strong sense of place - and all the books have a Greek and UK North Country bias. This book was written mostly using secondary sources and research from the library (rather than the internet!) and a booklist is an appendage.