Author Victoria Hislop to host special event in Bridport

Victoria Hislop, known for her historical fiction set in Greece, will be coming to Bridport Electric Palace to talk about her latest novel, The Figurine, which is set for release on August 1.

The talk is on Wednesday, September 18 at 2.30pm.

The event, which precedes the festival from November 3-9, is aimed at book clubs, but organisers say will also appeal to everyone who loves Hislop’s richly drawn novels set in the recent past.

Ms Hislop said: “I have been down a long and exciting path to write The Figurine. I admired the beauty of the Cycladic figurine for many years and began to understand what a huge influence they had on 20th century art.

“I also began to realise that their beauty has an irresistible and seductive power and wanted to write about the crime that such beauty and antiquity can drive people to.

“My story is set during the period of the Junta, an army dictatorship that committed many crimes, effectively robbing people of their lives and driving others into exile. To me there seemed to be a striking parallel. I hope readers will be pulled into this period of history, and the question of where something, or someone, really belongs.”

Victoria Hislop: The Figuerine (Image: Supplied)

The novel tells the story of Helena who inherits her grandparents’ apartment in Athens, she is overwhelmed with memories of the summers she spent there as a child, when Greece was under a brutal military dictatorship.

Her remote, cruel grandfather was one of the regime’s generals and as she sifts through the dusty rooms, Helena discovers an array of valuable objects and antiquities.

Helena’s desire to find answers about her heritage dovetails with a growing curiosity for archaeology, ignited by a summer spent with volunteers on a dig on an Aegean island.

Tickets for the event are £15 and can be obtained online from Bridport Electric Palace, in person at Bridport Tourist Office in South Street or by phone on 01308 424901.