The Last Dance and Other Stories: Powerful stories from million-copy bestseller Victoria Hislop 'Beautifully observed'

Description

'Lyrical, twisty short stories' Evening Standard A collection of stunning short stories from the million-copy bestselling author of The Island. Three of these stories were previously published in Victoria Hislop's ebook collection, One Cretan Evening. In ten powerful stories, Victoria Hislop takes us through the streets of Athens and into the tree-lined squares of Greek villages. As she evokes their distinct atmosphere, she brings vividly to life a host of unforgettable characters, from a lonesome priest to battling brothers, and from an unwanted stranger to a groom troubled by music and memory. These bittersweet tales of love and loyalty, of separation and reconciliation, captured in Victoria Hislop's unique voice, will stay with you long after you reach the end. Praise for The Last Dance and Other Stories. . . 'A master at evoking a sense of place' Mail on Sunday 'Stunning... Intricate, beautifully observed' Express 'Beguiling... her characters are utterly convincing' Daily Mail 'A vivid portrait of a country in upheaval' Tatler

Inspired by a visit to Spinalonga, the abandoned Greek leprosy colony, Victoria Hislop wrote The Island in 2005. It became an international bestseller, has sold more than six million copies and was turned into a 26-part Greek TV series. She was named Newcomer of the Year at the British Book Awards and is now an ambassador for Lepra. Her affection for the Mediterranean then took her to Spain, and in the number one bestseller The Return she wrote about the painful secrets of its civil war. In The Thread, Victoria returned to Greece to tell the turbulent tale of Thessaloniki and its people across the twentieth century. Shortlisted for a British Book Award, it confirmed her reputation as an inspirational storyteller. Her fourth novel, The Sunrise, about the Turkish invasion of Cyprus and the enduring ghost town of Famagusta, was a Sunday Times number one bestseller. Cartes Postales from Greece, fiction illustrated with photographs, followed and was one of the biggest selling books of 2016. The poignant and powerful Those Who Are Loved was a Sunday Times number one hardback bestseller in 2019 and explores a tempestuous period of modern Greek history through the eyes of a complex and compelling heroine. Victoria's most recent novel, One August Night, returns to Crete in the long-anticipated sequel to The Island. The novel spent twelve weeks in the Top 10 hardback fiction charts. Her books have been translated into more than thirty-five languages. Victoria divides her time between England and Greece and in 2020, Victoria was granted honorary citizenship by the President of Greece. She was recently appointed patron of Knossos 2025, which is raising funds for a new research centre at one of Greece's most significant archaeological sites. She is also on the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles.

'Sweeping, magnificently detailed and ambitious' - The Sunday Times 'Fast-paced narrative and utterly convincing sense of place' - Guardian 'Fresh, tenacious and rather intrepid' - Independent '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 Her best novel yet - Scotsman 'A brilliant page turner and destined to become a reading group staple, THE THREAD is rich with drama and historical detail' - Glamour 'Meticulously researched and compellingly told' - Woman & Home 'An evocative exploration of the past's hold on a family, with an exquisite love story at its centre' - Good Housekeeping