Victoria Hislop's eagerly awaited second novel, "The Return", published by Headline books is currently #2 on the Sunday Times Bestseller list.

Recent Reviews:

"The Return aims to open the eyes, and tug the heartstrings, of readers who mostly won't have read Orwell, let alone Cercas. Beyond some clunkily didactic patches, it succeeds. These days, the battle of historical memory against forgetting has to be fought on many fronts. Hislop deserves a medal for opening a breach into the holiday beach-bag" Boyd Tonkin, Independent Read More…

"[The Return] should be required reading for anyone going to Spain this year...the historical tale is powerful stuff" Daily Mail

"executed with verve and sensitivity…an excellent beach read" Melissa Katsoulis, The Telegraph: Read More.

"Hislop brilliantly recreates the passion that flows through the Andalusian dancers and the dark creative force of duende, so evocatively described by Lorca as working on the body of the dancer "like the wind works on sand".…

Hislop has written another worthy candidate for the 'best holiday read' category, although the story will cast a shadow over the lighthearted atmosphere on the beaches of southern Spain" The Scotsman

Recent Interviews:

June 20, 2008: "The Times"

WHAT DO YOU DO when your first novel has, with a little help from Richard and Judy, sold a million copies and your publisher is baying for the follow-up? If you're Victoria Hislop, wife of the still more famous Ian, the twinkly panellist from 'Have I Got News For You', you do it all again. You'd be a fool not to. As the Americans say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Read More…

"The Return"

Sonia is in Granada to celebrate a friend's birthday with a dance class. She knows nothing of the city's shocking past, but ordering a simple cup of coffee in a quiet cafe will lead her into the extraordinary tale of a family's fight to survive the horror of Spain's civil war. Seventy years earlier, and Granada, under a new liberal government, is a place of freedom and optimism. In the Ramirez family's cafe, Concha and Pablo's children relish the atmosphere of hope. Antonio is a serious young teacher, Ignacio a flamboyant matador, and Emilio a skilled musician. Their sister, Mercedes, is a spirited girl whose sole passion is dancing. Her talent for flamenco develops and when she meets Javier Montero, a renowned young guitarist, an obsessional love affair begins. But Spain is a country in turmoil, and in 1936 a revolution begins that will tear their family apart. For Antonio, the lure of battle is irresistible. For Mercedes, caught on the wrong side of the line, separation from Javier is unbearable. And everyone must take sides, must choose whether to submit, to fight or to attempt escape....