The Figurine: Escape to Athens and breathe in the sea air in this captivating novel

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In 2019, Victoria was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Sheffield, and in 2020 she was given Honorary Citizenship by the Greek President for her promotion of Greece. When Helena inherits her grandparents’ apartment in Athens, she is overwhelmed with memories of the summers she spent there as a child, when Greece was under a brutal military dictatorship. Her remote, cruel grandfather was one of the regime’s generals and as she sifts through the dusty rooms, Helena discovers an array of valuable objects and antiquities. How did her grandfather amass such a trove? What human price was paid for them? August 1957. The island of Spinalonga closes its leprosy colony. And a moment of violence has devastating consequences.

Victoria’s first book for children, Maria’s Island (listed by Waterstones as one of the best children’s books of the year) was also published in 2020 – and is an adaptation of The Island for a younger audience . This cookie is stored by WPML WordPress plugin. The purpose of the cookie is to store the redirected language. Those Who Are Loved has been germinating for a decade now, from the moment I first saw the island of Makronisos from the Greek mainland. I was told it was uninhabited, but had been a prison camp for communists. The discovery compelled me to read about the Greek civil war (in which many women played a role), but of course it also meant researching the events that led to that conflict as well as the long-term after-effects that are still seen in Greece even today. Everyone knows how much I love Greece, but exploring this story has taken me to some new and disquieting places.”– Victoria Hislop It tells the true story of a trawler, the Andrea Gail, which went out on a six-week trip to fish for tuna from Massachusetts and encountered a massive storm caused by the freak meeting of two weather fronts.

Praise for “The Story”

Helena’s attempt to make amends for some of her grandfather’s actions sees her wrestle with the meaning of ‘home’, both in relation to looted objects of antiquity … and herself.

In 1998 we had just brought a crumbling 14th-century house in Kent. It is largely constructed from timber, recycled from old sailing boats and brought up from the Kent coast. In a high wind, it creaks just like a ship and in a storm everything rattles and sways. There are no foundations, just a timber base on which the house rests; this expands and contracts, allowing for the natural movements of the earth. readers can’t fail to be swept up in her ongoing love affair with all things Greek and, in The Figurine, the focus turns to the country’s ancient statuettes and the looting trade that surrounds them.[…]a gripping storyline that leaves no stone unturned” Her affection for the Mediterranean then took her to Spain, and in The Return she wrote about the painful secrets of its civil war. Jules, Rebecca, Rachel and Emma chat with Victoria Hislop about her latest book, The Figurine. We also talk about Greece, archaeology, Strictly Come Dancing and book recommendations ... Read the full article

Bookshop displays for Maria’s Island

In her third novel, The Thread, Victoria returned to Greece to tell the extraordinary and turbulent tale of Thessaloniki and its people across the 20 th century. Published in 2011 to widespread acclaim, it confirmed her reputation as an inspirational storyteller and was shortlisted for a British Book Award. The Thread is currently in development with a British TV production company.