On the Road: Victoria Hislop
Victoria Hislop talks to Louise Flind about book research in leper colonies, copying Ian Hislop’s essays and the joys of Delphi
Is there anything you can’t leave home without? My noise-cancelling Bose headphones.
Something you really miss? A decent cup of tea.
Do you travel light? I vary, because travelling light is a fallacy and we try to pack our whole house into a tiny cabin bag to save £25.
Favourite destination? Greece, because we have a house in Crete, but it’s very rare for me to dislike anywhere in Greece. When I was 17, my mother took me and it was love at first sight – before that, we went to Bognor.
Why Greece for your first book? After a family holiday to Spinalonga in 2001, I had to write about it in The Island.
What is Spinalonga like? When I first went there, it was a lot more derelict. Although in the past people who went there had incurable leprosy, they formed a community together.
What is Makronisos, inspiration for your new book, Those Who Are Loved, like? Makronisos is a word that sends shivers down people’s spines. I was at the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion near Athens and I saw this island which was obviously deserted – it was a prison and a place of severe torture for up to 30,000 people during the civil war. It took me seven years to research and get to it, as no boats go there – it’s a very creepy place.
How much has Greece suffered in the last century? They go up and down – at the moment they’re on an up. The crisis was a big dip – when they entered Europe, there was a great deal of optimism and borrowing of money, which of course led to the crash. Further back, occupation by the Germans was a period of catastrophic austerity followed by a civil war.
How is the Greek character affected by its recent history? I think they’re very resilient, especially the old people on the islands – they never stopped growing their own food, making their oil and wine and living in a very simple way.
What’s your favourite Ancient Greek site? Delphi – simply because they really believed these magic fumes came out of the earth [inspiring the Delphic Sibyl, the prophetess].
What’s your favourite place in Greece? Agios Nikolaos in Crete is my local town and I’m an honorary citizen.
Has Greece recovered from the crisis? Definitely – Athens dwarfs Greece, given that half the population lives there, and you have a real sense of recovery there.
How did you meet Ian Hislop? Is it difficult having Private Eye being rude about people? At Oxford, we met in the English faculty library which is the least romantic building on the planet. He was reading English and I started borrowing his essays which were much better than mine.
I don’t read Private Eye from cover to cover, for two reasons: the type is incredibly small and if I do meet someone and they’re a bit cool, I can genuinely say I didn’t know what’s been said about them.
Are you a traveller? Oh yes, I love travelling. But it’s getting problematic, flying unnecessarily – and that unfortunately to me is what travelling is. I don’t dislike Britain but I’m European. While my mother is alive, I can’t do this – she’s now 93 (and an avid reader of The Oldie!) – but if somebody said you can’t fly so often, I’d go to Greece and spend months there.
Where did you go on your honeymoon? To Nevis in the West Indies.
Do you have a daily routine even when you’re away? I like the morning, that feeling of potential in the day. In Greece, my routine is get up, coffee, swim in the sea and write.
Are you brave with different food abroad? I’ve eaten a lot of things to be polite in Greece: goat eyeballs and tongue.
Favourite international food? I’m more or less vegetarian; in Crete that’s easy because they live mainly off the land. We have a lot of horta (wild greens) gathered from the mountainside.
Have you made friends when you’ve been away? A lot of friends in Crete because we filmed the 26-part TV series of The Island there.
Do you have a go at the local language? How is your Greek? I speak Greek well enough to do live Greek TV.
Biggest headache? Queuing to get into the EU will be … rather than just marching up with a European passport.
Do you like coming home? There’s always an excitement when you come in to land from the east, all the way up the Thames.
What is the strangest place you’ve ever slept in – while being away? On the beach in Greece when I was a student – but it was very, very comfortable.
Those Who Are Loved is now out in paperback