We are delighted to present Victoria Hislop, who has wοn the hearts of readers in both the UK and Greece with her best-selling novel The Island, a book that earned her the Best Newcomer award at the 2007 British Book Awards.
Educated at St Hilda’s College, Oxford, Victoria Hislop began her career in publishing and then moved into public relations. Becoming a mother in 1990 was the catalyst for a career change and she started working as a freelance journalist. She branched into travel journalism and has since travelled to every continent. Victoria is married to journalist and Private Eye editor, Ian Hislop. They have two children and live in Kent.
The Island is Victoria’s first novel and is set on the island of Spinalonga, off the coast of Crete. It tells the story of Alexis Fielding, who knows little or nothing about her family's past and has always resented her mother's refusal to discuss it. She knows only that her mother, Sofia, grew up in Plaka, a small Cretan village, before moving to London. Making her first visit to Crete to see the village where her mother was born, Alexis uncovers the story of a family torn apart by tragedy, war and passion. She discovers how closely she is connected with the island and the leper colony which was once there, and learns that the secrets of the past have the power to change the future ...
The Island was hailed as the new Captain Corelli's Mandolin and was a number 1 bestseller in the UK.
The book has been published in Greece by DIOPTRA, where it has been equally successful. It is has been reprinted 18 times and remains on the bestseller list in Greece.
The event will be held in English. Admission free.
In Thessaloniki Victoria Hislop will be presented by Dr Tatiani Rapatzikou, Lecturer, School of English, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
