Victoria Hislop
British writer

Victoria Hislop

The basics
Quick facts
Intro
British writer
Gender:
Female
Birth:
(Bromley)
Family:
Spouse(s):
Ian Hislop
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The details
Biography

Introduction

Victoria Hislop (née Hamson; born 1959) is an English author.

Personal

Born in Bromley, Kent (now part of London), she was raised in Tonbridge, Kent, and attended Tonbridge Grammar School. She studied English at St Hilda's College, Oxford and worked in publishing and as a journalist before becoming an author. She lived in London for over 20 years, and now lives in Sissinghurst.

She married Private Eye editor Ian Hislop on 16 April 1988 in Oxford. They have two children, Emily Helen (born 1990) and William David (born 1993).

Career

Her novel The Island (2005), which the Sunday Express hailed as "the new Captain Corelli's Mandolin", was a number one bestseller in Britain, its success in part the result of having been selected by the Richard & Judy Book Club for their 2006 Summer Reads. To Nisi (The Island) was filmed as a TV series by the Greek TV channel MEGA.

In 2009, she donated the short story Aflame in Athens to Oxfam's "Ox-Tales" project, four collections of British stories written by 38 authors. Her story was published in the "Fire" collection. Hislop has a particular affection for Greece, visits the country often for research and other reasons, and has a second home on Crete.

Works

Novels

  • The Island (2005)
  • The Return (2008)
  • The Thread (2011)
  • The Sunrise (2014)
  • Cartes Postales from Greece (2016)

Short stories

  • One Cretan Evening and Other Stories (2011)
    • 'One Cretan Evening' (2008)
    • 'The Pine Tree' (2008)
    • 'By The Fire' (2009)
    • 'The Warmest Christmas Ever' (2007)
    • 'Aflame in Athens' (2009)
  • The Last Dance and Other Stories (2013; ten stories)

Non fiction

  • Sink or Swim: The Self-help Book for Men Who Never Read Them (2002) (with Duncan Goodhew)
  • Fix Your Life - Now!: The Six Step Plan to Help You Fix Your Life (2012) (with Duncan Goodhew)