Book club webchat with Victoria Hislop Wednesday 4 July 1-2pm

I gave The Thread to my daughter in law at Christmas, hoping to borrow it when she had finished it but couldn't wait any longer so got my husband to get it from the Library - had to wait a while as it was so popular. It is even better than Victoria's first two superlative offerings - The Island and The Return. It is very rarely that a book makes me emotional but many times in The Thread I had a lump in my throat, especially Katrina's search for her mother. How exceptionally thorough is the research done for these books - must take months and months. Has Victoria got another one in the pipeline because I am like an addict waiting for my next fix ?!!

thank you - what a fantastic read, and helps me to understand the history of Greece a little more. I loved the way that the title can be seen as a thread of fabric and a thread of life; the scrap of fabric that saved Katerina's life that she treasures seems to weave itself into her sense of family. I was sad that Katrina and her birth family could not be reunited, was this a comment on the harshness of diaspora, what happens to families and communities?

I just finished "The Thread" last night. I found it to be a great read. I am in awe of the research that must have gone into this. I have been inspired to start another book on the subject of what happened to jews during the war. On a lighter note, when I'd finished "The Island" I told my daughter I'd been reading about a leper colony. She looked at me in amazement and said "I didn't know leprechauns were real people". Thought that would make Victoria Hislop smile!

loved The Thread read it in two days makes you want to there

Family was such an important part of this novel, Victoria. I was wondering how you find writing about families and how different members interact? I think it would be one of the hardest things to come up with.

Hi Victoria,

What as it about Greece that made you want to write about it so much? I think the history is amazing. You definitely captured something very special about it in the book, I think.

I'd like to ask Victoria what draws her to a subject to construct a story around it and are her characters totally fictional or are they maybe based on real people she's heard stories about during her research?

I enjoyed your novel, Victoria and think it's your best so far. I have also read Louis de Bernières' 'Birds without Wings' which is set in Turkey at the same time, when the Greek population was expelled. Were you at all influenced by his writing?

PS Victoria, I will be recommending The Thread to our book group - there is plenty of material in it for a good discussion! Thank you.

All this talk of the Thread - so I have just down/up loaded (is it down or up I never know!) it onto my Kindle ready to read on the way to Sydney next week

Hi Victoria, great that you're coming onto Gransnet today. Did you always know you wanted to be a novelist?

Any reason for setting your novels in warm climates and what is your inspiration for them? Do you set yourself a limit for the number of pages to write per day and do you have the plot worked out before you start? And does Ian read your work first?

I wanted to ask why you have a modern character at the beginnings and ends of your novels? In The Thread it meant we always knew that Dmitri and Katarina married in the end. Wouldn't there have been more suspense if we hadn't known? - I loved the book, but I wondered if it would have been more exciting not to know?

Hi Victoria - Aristotle Onassis, as well as being a very rich and successful businessman, liked his trophy wives and mistresses. He was quoted as saying, ‘All Greek men beat their women, no question.’ Did you base some of your character, Konsantinos Komninos on Onnassis and have you always had a passion for textiles and the history of fashion?

You cover nearly a century of history in The Thread. Is it intimidating to work on such a huge canvas?

Did you think of writing under your maiden name? I can imagine it could be either an advantage or disadvantage being married to the editor of Private Eye - it gets you noticed, but not always in a good way?! (Loved the book, btw)

I just want to say I enjoyed your book The Thread so much that my husband went out and bought me The island I am on the last few pages now and its even better I think, an area I just remember when I visited years ago. Now I must look out for the last one to read on Spain I think.
Thankyou so much for all the time and energy you must have put in to write these books to give me so much pleasure in reading these truly remarkable stories maureen

Hi Victoria,

I was intrigued by why you referred to the city as Thessaloniki throughout when presumably it was called Salonika for some of the period you were writing about? I was in Greece not so long ago and I am sure I heard some people referring to it as Salonika.

Whatever, you captured its essence, I suspect!