Promotional Information

THE ISLAND won Richard & Judy's Summer Read 2006, and was the Sunday Times number one paperback for eight weeks

About the Author

Victoria Hislop is the multi-million copy bestselling author of eight books, including The Island, The Return, The Thread, The Sunrise, Those Who are Loved, The Last Dance and Other Stories and Cartes Postales from Greece. Her books have been translated into forty languages. Her most recent novel, One August Night, returned to Crete in the long-anticipated sequel to The Island and spent twelve weeks in the Top 10 hardback fiction charts.

Victoria was executive producer on the adaptations of The Island, Cartes Postales and One August Night for Greek television - and recently took part in Dancing with the Stars, also on Greek television.

Victoria divides her time between England and Greece and, in 2020, was granted honorary citizenship by the President of Greece. She was recently granted an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Sheffield and is patron of Knossos 2025, which has raised funds to rebuild the new research centre at one of Greece's most significant archaeological sites. She is also on the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles.

Reviews

'Hislop carefully evokes the lives of Cretans between the wars and during German occupation, but most commendable is her compassionate portrayal of the outcasts' Guardian -- Guardian 20050723 'Hislop is an exceptional writer with a strong voice who completely deserves rich success with this debut... Beautifully balanced, vivid and atmospheric prose' Newbury Weekly News -- Newbury Weekly News 20050811 'War, tragedy and passion unfurl against a Mediterranean backdrop in this engrossing debut novel' You magazine -- You magazine 20050811 'Wonderful descriptions, strong characters and an intimate portrait of island existence' Woman & Home -- Woman & Home 20050811 'Passionately engaged with its subject...the author has meticulously researched her fascinating background and medical facts' The Sunday Times -- The Sunday Times 20050811 'A page-turning tale that reminds us that love and life continue in even the most extraordinary of circumstances' Sunday Express -- Sunday Express 20050811 'Hislop's deep research, imagination and patent love of Crete creates a convincing portrait of times on the island. She writes evocatively of the minutiae of traditional life... She...manages to milk the dramatic potential of each unexpected twist and broken engagement, of the ruined and resurrected lives of her characters... A moving and absorbing holiday read that pulls at the heart strings' Evening Standard -- Evening Standard 20050606 'At last -- a beach book with a heart... Meticulous research into Cretan culture...packed with family sagas, doomed love affairs, devastating secrets... She also forces us to reflect on illness, both the nasty, narrow-mindedness of the healthy and the spirit of survival in the so-called "unclean". Her message seems as relevant today as it would have been a century ago' Observer -- Observer 20050606 'A moving and atmospheric tale' The Scotsman -- The Scotsman 20050606 'A promising debut' Grazia magazine -- Grazia 20050606

Travel writer Hislop's unwieldy debut novel opens with 25-year-old Alexis leaving Britain for Crete, her mother Sofia's homeland, hoping to ferret out the secrets of Sofia's past and thereby get a handle on her own turbulent life. Sofia's friend Fortini tells Alexis of her grandmother Anna, and great-aunt Maria. Their mother (Alexis's great-grandmother) contracted leprosy in 1939 and went off to a leper colony on the nearby island of Spinalonga, leaving them with their father. Anna snags a wealthy husband, Andreas, but smolders for his renegade cousin, Manoli. When philanderer Manoli chooses Maria, Anna is furious. Conveniently, Maria also contracts leprosy and is exiled, allowing Anna to conduct an affair with Manoli. Meanwhile, Maria feels an attraction to her doctor, who may have similar feelings. Though the plot is satisfyingly twisty, the characters play one note apiece (Anna is prone to dramatic outrages, Maria is humble and kind, and their love interests are jealous and aggressive). Hislop's portrayal of leprosy-those afflicted and the evolving treatment-during the 1940s and 1950s is convincing, but readers may find the narrative's preoccupation with chronicling the minutiae of daily life tedious. (July) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.