One August Night cover art

One August Night

Sequel to much-loved classic, The Island

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About this listen

 *Pre-order THE FIGURINE, the brand-new novel from Victoria Hislop. Coming September 2023.*

'A return to Hislop's thyme-scented, Aegean-lapped fictional Greece' The Sunday Times

Beloved author Victoria Hislop returns to Crete in this long-anticipated sequel to her multi-million-copy Number One bestseller, The Island.

25th August 1957. The island of Spinalonga closes its leper colony. And a moment of violence has devastating consequences.

When time stops dead for Maria Petrakis and her sister, Anna, two families splinter apart and, for the people of Plaka, the closure of Spinalonga is forever coloured with tragedy.

In the aftermath, the question of how to resume life looms large. Stigma and scandal need to be confronted and somehow, for those impacted, a future built from the ruins of the past.

Number one bestselling author Victoria Hislop returns to the world and characters she created in The Island - the award-winning novel that remains one of the biggest selling reading group novels of the century. It is finally time to be reunited with Anna, Maria, Manolis and Andreas in the weeks leading up to the evacuation of the island... and beyond.

Discover for yourself why ten million readers worldwide love the novels of Victoria Hislop...

'This dramatic, absorbing and good-natured novel abounds Greek Island atmosphere'
Daily Mail on One August Night

'Immersive storytelling sweeps you along'
Mail on Sunday on One August Night

'A dramatic story of love, betrayal and allegiances . . . Hislop evokes Greece beautifully'
Woman & Home on One August Night

'Hislop's love for Greece shines through this wonderfully descriptive and compelling tale'
Sunday Express on One August Night

'This love letter to Greece will sweep you away to another time and place'
The Sunday Mirror on One August Night

'Hislop expertly delves into the complex history of a fascinating country in this beautifully written family saga'
Daily Mirror on One August Night

'Compelling and moving, this is a real page turner'
Woman's Weekly on One August Night

'The descriptions of Greece leave you feeling like you're right there'
Good Housekeeping on One August Night

'A beautifully written story that will enchant the reader'
The Express on One August Night

'A dramatic story of love, betrayal and allegiances'
Woman magazine on One August Night

©2020 Victoria Hislop (P)2020 Headline Publishing Group Ltd©2020 Victoria Hislop 20th Century Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Women's Fiction Tear-jerking Feel-Good

Critic reviews

Fast-paced narrative and utterly convincing sense of place
Hislop brings history to life in this compelling tale
A beautiful tale of love, struggle and redemption
An eye-opening and moving read
Immersive storytelling sweeps you along'
This dramatic, absorbing and good-natured novel abounds Greek Island atmosphere
A return to Hislop's thyme-scented, Aegean-lapped fictional Greece
A dramatic story of love, betrayal and allegiances . . . Hislop evokes Greece beautifully
Hislop's love for Greece shines through this wonderfully descriptive and compelling tale
This love letter to Greece will sweep you away to another time and place
A passionate love letter to Greece that will sweep you away to another time and place
Hislop expertly delves into the complex history of a fascinating country in this beautifully written family saga
Compelling and moving, this is a real page turner
As ever, the descriptions of Greece leave you feeling like you're right there
Expertly portrays the warmth of Greece and its people, delving into the long and complicated history of a fascinating country while spinning a family saga that her fans will devour. A beautifully written story that will enchant the reader
Moving and engrossing
At no point in this novel of loss and redemption does the pace slacken
A dramatic story of love, betrayal and allegiances
All stars
Most relevant
Having read all of Victoria Hislop’s books I was really looking forward to reading this one. I found it a pleasant story but it didn’t come up to the rest. I liked the characters but there was not enough to make me feel it was all that interesting and the end was a bit of a non event. Maybe I was expecting too much.

A little disappointing

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the sequel to the Island which was a far richer book in every way. somewhat predictable but a well written story.

second best

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Very little happened, so much more could have been explored, almost felt forced just to get a book written for the publishers

Disappointing, weak plot

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I really enjoyed it however from what I read about it I expected it to be more about the stigma of leprosy and how Maria and others were reintegrated from Spinalonga. Although when she touched on it it was done perfectly it wasn't a big part of the story. it was more about love & forgiveness. the performance in English was great but the Greek didn't sound authentic and was occasionally hard to understand (I am bilingual greek and English). overall I still love victoria hislop and would definitely still read more of her books. I just truly loved The Island & The Return.

very good story but not what I expected.

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Another good book from Victoria Hislop. Beautiful descriptions.. Colourful characters and a strong storyline.

Excellent read

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