About the Author

Victoria Hislop was born in Kent and grew up in Tonbridge. She read English at St Hilda’s College, Oxford, and later worked in book publishing and then in public relations.

When she became a mother in 1990, it was the catalyst for a change of career and she began working as a freelance journalist, specialising in features on parenting and education. When one of the magazines she was writing for asked her to do a piece on Australia, she branched into travel journalism and has since been to every continent. She has written on everything from white-water rafting on the Colorado River, horse-trekking across the Andes, elephant-riding in India and climbing the Great Wall of China, to buying lingerie in Paris, shoes in Florence and couture in Rome.

After living in London for 20 years Victoria returned to Kent. Her first novel, The Island, was published in 2006 and won her ‘Newcomer of the Year’ at the Galaxy British Book Awards 2007. She lives in Sissinghurst with her husband, Ian Hislop, and their two teenage children.

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