The Island

                     

by Victoria Hislop

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...

Paperback, 473 pages

Published April 10th 2006 by Headline (first published January 1st 2005)

original title

The Island

ISBN

0755309510 (ISBN13: 9780755309511)

edition language

English

characters

Alexis Fielding, Sofia Fielding

setting

Greece, 1939

literary awards

Galaxy British Book Awards