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‘Victoria weaves an effortless tale that draws you in and makes you forget the world outside exists. She has the ability to make you step into the pages, to transport you to Thessaloniki as you live the story yourself. She writes in such a beautiful way and her characters have depth and credibility . . . Exceptional’ Real Reader Review, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Dimitri Komninos is born as fire devastates Thessaloniki, where Christians, Jews and Muslims live side by side. Five years later, Katerina Sarafoglou loses her mother when their home is destroyed by the Turkish army. She flees across the sea, alone, to Thessaloniki. When she and Dimitri meet, their lives entwine with one another – and the city itself – even as war, fear and persecution divide its people.

Ninety years later, a young Anglo-Greek hears his grandparents’ life story for the first time. Should he become the custodian of their legacy and make this city his home, keeping alive the memories of those who were forced to leave?

Discover for yourself why 10 million readers and critics worldwide love Victoria Hislop’s books . . .



‘A sweeping, magnificently detailed and ambitious saga’ The Sunday Times

‘Hislop does her research and is very good at interweaving the lives of individuals into the backcloth of great events, giving the reader a history lesson that doesn’t feel like one ‘ Daily Mail


‘Hislop’s fast-paced narrative and utterly convincing sense of place make her novel a rare treat’ Guardian


‘This is storytelling at its best and just like a tapestry, when each thread is sewn into place, so emerge the layers and history of relationships past and present’ Sunday Express


‘Meticulously researched and compellingly told’ Woman & Home


‘Oh what a tangled web she weaves! Hislop has done well to tell a story as diverse and tempestuous as Thessaloniki’s with such lightness of touch’ Spectator


‘A magnificent setting for this poignant tale . . .Victoria Hislop has a talent of bringing history alive on the printed page’ Real Reader Review, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐


‘I wanted this one to last forever’ Real Reader Review, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐


‘A beautifully written book that kept me reading late into the night . . . a fascinating glimpse into the not so distant past’ Real Reader Review, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐


‘A spell-binding story’ Real Reader Review, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐


‘Thessaloniki is much more than a setting for this all-embracing historical saga . . . this many layered story which has been beautifully threaded together’ Real Reader Review, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐


*Victoria Hislop’s most recent novel, THE FIGURINE, is out now.*

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Reviews

The Sunday Times
A sweeping, magnificently detailed and ambitious saga that wrestles with the turbulence of the period Hislop covers . . . All those who loved The Island, her hugely successful first novel, will fall on it
Daily Mail
Hislop does her research and is very good at interweaving the lives of individuals into the backcloth of great events, giving the reader a history lesson that doesn't feel like one . . . Recommended
Guardian
Hislop's fast-paced narrative and utterly convincing sense of place make her novel a rare treat
Sunday Express
This is storytelling at its best and just like a tapestry, when each thread is sewn into place, so emerge the layers and history of relationships past and present
Woman & Home
Meticulously researched and compellingly told
Spectator
Oh what a tangled web she weaves! Hislop has done well to tell a story as diverse and tempestuous as Thessaloniki's with such lightness of touch
Good Housekeeping
It's an evocative exploration of the past's hold on a family, with an exquisite love story at its centre