*Pre-order THE FIGURINE the brand-new novel from Victoria Hislop. Coming September 2023.****A
beautiful 10th anniversary paperback edition that includes a new essay by Victoria Hislop on
the impact of this million-copy bestseller.***'A moving and absorbing holiday read that pulls
at the heartstrings' Evening StandardThe acclaimed million-copy number one bestseller and
winner of Richard & Judy's Summer Read 2006. Victoria Hislop tells a dramatic tale of four
generations illicit love violence and leprosy from the thirties through the war to the
present day.On the brink of a life-changing decision Alexis Fielding longs to find out about
her mother's past. But Sofia has never spoken of it. All she admits to is growing up in a small
Cretan village before moving to London. When Alexis decides to visit Crete however Sofia
gives her daughter a letter to take to an old friend and promises that through her she will
learn more. Arriving in Plaka Alexis is astonished to see that it lies a stone's throw from
the tiny deserted island of Spinalonga - Greece's former leper colony. Then she finds Fotini
and at last hears the story that Sofia has buried all her life: the tale of her
great-grandmother Eleni and her daughters and a family rent by tragedy war and passion. She
discovers how intimately she is connected with the island and how secrecy holds them all in
its powerful grip...Praise for The Island. . .'A vivid moving and absorbing tale'
Observer'Victoria Hislop . . . brings dignity and tenderness to her novel about lives blighted
by leprosy' Telegraph'Wonderful descriptions strong characters and an intimate portrait of
island existence' Woman & Home'War tragedy and passion unfurl against a Mediterranean backdrop
in this engrossing debut novel' You magazine'Hislop's deep research imagination and patent
love of Crete creates a convincing portrait of times on the island'Evening Standard'A
page-turning tale that reminds us that love and life continue in even the most extraordinary of
circumstances'Sunday Express 'A beautiful tale of enduring love and unthinking
prejudice'ExpressIn 2018 The Island was awarded a Nielsen Platinum Bestseller Award in
recognition of selling over one million copies in the United Kingdom.
