Victoria Hislop Knihy

Hlavní postavou románu Ostrov, jehož děj se odehrává především na krétském ostrově Spinalonga, je mladá žena Alexis Fieldingová. Tu trápí, že nezná historii matčiny větve rodiny, a odmítá se smířit s tím, že to tak možná zůstane navždy. Rozhodne se tedy, že odcestuje na Krétu, do vesničky jménem Plaka, kde její matka vyrůstala. Tam vyhledá matčinu dávnou přítelkyni, které má předat dopis, a jejím prostřednictvím se postupně seznamuje s tragickým příběhem své rodiny. Osud Alexiny prababičky a babičky je neoddělitelně spjat s ostrovem Spinalonga, který se nachází v bezprostřední blízkosti Plaky, ostrovem, na nějž krétští obyvatelé vykazovali příbuzné, kteří onemocněli leprou. Alexis v průběhu vyprávění staré ženy pochopí, proč matka odmítala mluvit o minulosti, a zároveň si uvědomí, že odkrytím dávných tajemství může změnit přítomnost i budoucnost...

Pod majestátnými věžemi Alhambry hraje hudba a dlážděné uličky Granady skrývají tajemství. Sonia Cameronová, Londýňanka se španělskými kořeny, nezná dějiny města, přijela sem jen se svou přítelkyní Maggie, aby se zdokonalily v tanci. V tiché kavárně si však náhodou vyslechne cizí rozhovor a poutavá sbírka fotografií ji vtáhne do výjimečného příběhu děsivé španělské občanské války. Před sedmdesáti lety žila v domě, kde se kavárna nachází, soudržná rodina Ramírezových. V roce 1936 naruší křehký mír v zemi vojenský puč generála Franka. Manželé Ramírezovi, jejich tři synové a dcera Mercedes se stanou svědky nejhorších válečných hrůz. Svědky, ale i oběťmi. Jejich životy rozdělí politika a každý z nich si musí vybrat, na čí stranu se přidá, a bojovat v soukromých bitvách, zatímco se celé Španělsko rozpadá. Soniu tato pohnutá rodinná historie – a také tanec – zcela pohltí, a ani netuší, jak podstatně obojí zasáhne do jejího života.

A dramatic and moving story set in the same world as the international bestseller The Island from the celebrated novelist Victoria Hislop. The absorbing story of the Cretan village of Plaka and the tiny, deserted island of Spinalonga - Greece's former leper colony - is told to us by Maria Petrakis, one of the children in the original version of The Island. She tells us of the ancient and misunderstood disease of leprosy, exploring the themes of stigma, shame and the treatment of those who are different, which are as relevant for children as adults. Gill Smith's rich, full-colour illustrations will transport the reader to the timeless and beautiful Greek landscape and Mediterranean seascape.

Athens, 1941. Nazi forces occupy Greece ... and a nation falls apart. Victoria Hislop's NEW Sunday Times Number One bestseller takes you into the darker days of Greek history and, through the eyes of its extraordinary heroine, illuminates the courage it takes to live in peace. After decades of political uncertainty, Greece is polarised between Right- and Left-wing views when the Germans invade. Fifteen-year-old Themis comes from a family divided by these political differences. The Nazi occupation deepens the fault-lines between those she loves just as it reduces Greece to destitution. She watches friends die in the ensuing famine and is moved to commit acts of resistance. In the civil war that follows the end of the occupation, Themis joins the Communist army, where she experiences the extremes of love and hatred and the paradoxes presented by a war in which Greek fights Greek. Eventually imprisoned on the infamous islands of exile, Makronisos and then Trikeri, Themis encounters another prisoner whose life will entwine with her own in ways neither can foresee. And finds she must weigh her principles against her desire to escape and live. As she looks back on her life, Themis realises how tightly the personal and political can become entangled. While some wounds heal, others deepen. This gripping new novel from bestselling author Victoria Hislop sheds light on the complexity and trauma of Greece's past and weaves it into the epic tale of an ordinary woman compelled to live an extraordinary life

Four novels selected and condensed by Reader's Digest.

'Sweeping, magnificently detailed and ambitious' The Sunday Times The enthralling novel from Victoria Hislop, the million-copy bestselling author of The Island and The Return. Thessaloniki, 1917. As Dimitri Komninos is born, a devastating fire sweeps through the thriving Greek city where Christians, Jews and Muslims live side by side. Five years later, Katerina Sarafoglou's home in Asia Minor is destroyed by the Turkish army. Losing her mother in the chaos, she flees across the sea to an unknown destination in Greece. Soon her life will become entwined with Dimitri's, and with the story of the city itself, as war, fear and persecution begin to divide its people. Thessaloniki, 2007. A young Anglo-Greek hears his grandparents' life story for the first time and realises he has a decision to make. For many decades, they have looked after the memories and treasures of the people who were forced to leave. Should he become their next custodian and make this city his home? Praise for The Thread. . . 'A history lesson that doesn't feel like one' Daily Mail 'This is storytelling at its best' Sunday Express 'A rare treat' Guardian 'The Thread will entertain and enlighten legions of readers' Independent 'Pleasingly complex' Spectator

The NEW Sunday Times Number One bestseller from Victoria Hislop, author of multi-million-copy bestsellers, including The Island, The Sunrise and Cartes Postales from Greece.

'Intelligent and immersive... a poignant, compelling family saga' The Sunday Times The No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller from the million-copy best-selling author of The Island, The Thread, and The Return. In the summer of 1972, Famagusta in Cyprus is the most desirable resort in the Mediterranean, a city bathed in the glow of good fortune. An ambitious couple are about to open the island's most spectacular hotel, where Greek and Turkish Cypriots work in harmony. Two neighbouring families, the Georgious and the Özkans, are among many who moved to Famagusta to escape the years of unrest and ethnic violence elsewhere on the island. But beneath the city's façade of glamour and success, tension is building. When a Greek coup plunges the island into chaos, Cyprus faces a disastrous conflict. Turkey invades to protect the Turkish Cypriot minority, and Famagusta is shelled. Forty thousand people seize their most precious possessions and flee from the advancing soldiers. In the deserted city, just two families remain. This is their story. Praise for The Sunrise. . . 'Fascinating and moving' The Times 'An imaginative tour de force, and a great read' Daily Mail 'An absorbing tale about family, friendship, loyalty and betrayal' Good Housekeeping 'Heartbreaking' Essentials 'Vibrant... Hislop brings history to life in this compelling tale' Tatler 'Fascinating' Sunday Mirror

'Life provides infinite shades of light and dark...' Victoria Hislop, bestselling author and champion of the short story, has chosen her favourite short stories by women writers. Here are prizewinners, famous wits, well-known feminists, national treasures and rising stars. All the stories in this volume are about life - happy, sad, mundane and extraordinary - it is captured here in all its rich variety. CONTRIBUTORS: Willa Cather, Virginia Woolf, Ellen Gilchrist, Dorothy Parker, Doris Lessing, Penelope Fitzgerald, Margaret Atwood, Penelope Lively, Anita Desai, Alice Munro, Elspeth Davie, Penelope Fitzgerald, Alice Walker, A. M. Homes, Anne Enright, Elizabeth Jolley, Jane Gardam, Alison Lurie, Nicola Barker, Jennifer Egan, Muriel Spark, Hilary Mantel, A. S. Byatt, Maggie Gee, Ali Smith, A. L. Kennedy, Polly Samson, Helen Simpson and Stella Duffy.

'I think few of the stories in Loss will leave readers cold...' Victoria Hislop, bestselling author and champion of the short story, has chosen her favourite short stories by women writers. Here are prizewinners, famous wits, well-known feminists, national treasures and rising stars. All the stories in this volume are about loss: lost lives, lost loves, lost innocence, even a lost leopard. The many ways in which loss touches our lives are shown in these varied stories. CONTRIBUTORS: Katherine Mansfield, Elizabeth Bowen, Dorothy Parker, Shirley Jackson, Flannery O'Connor, Elizabeth Taylor, Jean Rhys, Anna Kavan, Muriel Spark, Ellen Gilchrist, Penelope Fitzgerald, Lorrie Moore, Hilary Mantel, Susan Hill, Colette Paul, Yiyun Li, Helen Simpson, Edna O'Brien, Edith Pearlman, Emma Donoghue, Carrie Tiffany and Lucy Wood.