In her irresistible new novel, Sunday Times No 1 bestselling author Victoria Hislop shines a light on the questionable acquisition of cultural treasures and the price people – and countries – will pay to cling on to them.

Of all the ancient art that captures the imagination, none is more appealing than the Cycladic figurine. An air of mystery swirls around these statuettes from the Bronze Age and they are highly sought after by collectors – and looters – alike.

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When Helena 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. How did her grandfather amass such a trove? What human price was paid for them?

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. Their finds fuel her determination to protect the precious fragments recovered from the baked earth – and to understand the origins of her grandfather’s collection.

Helena’s attempt to make amends for some of her grandfather’s actions sees her wrestle with the meaning of ‘home’, both in relation to looted objects of antiquity … and herself.

My Review

I’ve been a fan of Victoria’s books for many years now – my first being The Island about the leper colony at the island of Spinalonga, off the coast of Crete.

In The Figurine, we are back in Greece, though this time it’s mainland Athens, plus a few smaller Greek Islands I’d never heard of, and London. Helena is a child at the beginning, and at aged 12, she goes to Athens to stay with her Greek grandparents. She goes alone, even though she has never met them. Her mother left Greece 25 years ago and has never returned.

Her grandfather is a stern, formidable man, with a cruel streak that she recognises even at such a young age. He was a general in the junta when Greece was under a brutal military dictatorship and anyone who didn’t agree could be made to disappear. Her grandmother, however is kind and generous, but she never defies or criticizes her husband.

Helena returns every year and we follow her life from the premature death of her mother, her time reading chemistry at Oxford, her relationship with the charismatic Nick, and her budding interest in archaeology.

But I don’t want to retell the story. You can read it for yourselves. I want to draw attention to what this book is really about. It’s partly about Helena’s attempts to right the wrongs perpetrated by her grandfather, but it’s mainly about the relics that have been looted from Greece – and other countries – the most famous being the Elgin Marbles, removed from the Parthenon, and now in the British Museum. They are said to ‘represent perhaps the most disputed pieces of cultural heritage’ ever. Many artefacts were also sold overseas for vast sums of money to private collectors. This book discusses the rights and wrongs, with the addition of fictitious heroine Helena to add interest and romance to the story. I really loved it.

Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours, to NetGalley for an ARC, and to The Pigeonhole, the author and my fellow Pigeons for making this such an enjoyable read. 

About the Author

Her books have been translated into forty languages and Victoria was executive producer on the adaptations of three of her novels for Greek television. Victoria divides her time between England and Greece and in 2020, was granted honorary citizenship by the President of Greece. She was recently appointed patron of Knossos 2025, which is raising funds for a new research centre at one of Greece’s most significant archaeological sites. She is also on the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles.

Victoria was recently granted an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Sheffield.