Bestselling Australian author Shelley Dark has returned with Son of Hydra, a sweeping historical novel centred on one of the most improbable figures in Australia’s early convict history: The Hydriot pirate Ghikas Voulgaris.
The origins of the book lie in a family revelation that reshaped Dark’s understanding of her own history. More than two decades ago, her son returned from filming in the Snowy Mountains and casually asked a question that would spark a seven-year journey across continents and archives: “Dad, are we Greek?”
That question led Dark to uncover that she was married to the great-great-grandson of a real pirate.
She began her research in Sydney before travelling to Hydra on her first visit to Greece, with no knowledge of the language and only fragments of information to guide her. From there, her search took her to Athens, Malta, England and Ireland, tracing the life of Voulgaris and that of Mary Lyons, the Irish orphan who later became his wife in New South Wales.
“To begin with, all I wanted to know was who this man was, who his parents were, what had driven him to piracy,” Dark said. “But the more I found out, the more I wanted to know.”
The research proved complex and often contradictory. Even Voulgaris’ name appeared in multiple forms across records, as did the name of his ship. While some accounts claimed his pirate crew numbered nine, Dark uncovered British records listing forty-three men.
Faced with gaps that could never be fully resolved, Dark chose to bring the story to life through historical fiction rather than confining it to a limited set of verifiable facts.
More recent discoveries helped clarify parts of the historical record, including confirmation that crew members not charged with piracy were returned to Hydra aboard the same British vessel carrying Governor Ioannis Kapodistrias back to Greece. Dark also received confirmation from a genealogist in Athens that Voulgaris was almost certainly her husband’s great-great-grandfather.
Son of Hydra follows Ghikas Voulgaris from his privileged youth on Hydra to his conviction for piracy during the Greek War of Independence and subsequent transportation to the penal colony of New South Wales. In Australia, the son of a powerful seafaring family becomes a shepherd, stripped of name and status, forced to rebuild his life from nothing.
The novel is told entirely from Ghikas’ point of view, proud, stubborn and often infuriating, yet gradually shaped by hardship, labour and love. Central to the story is his relationship with Mary Lyons, whose resilience and independence challenge everything he once believed about power and identity.
Asked what Ghikas himself might think if he could read the novel, Dark laughed.
“The young Ghikas might have been fascinated by how he was portrayed,” she said. “But the man he became? I suspect he’d wipe the sweat from his brow, grunt ‘what a load of rubbish’, and go back to mending his fence.”
Early praise for Son of Hydra has highlighted its storytelling and historical depth, with commentators describing it as compelling, immersive and emotionally grounded.
Part Greek saga and part Australian frontier novel, Son of Hydra explores pride, punishment, identity and the forces that shape a life across two worlds.
