Victoria Hislop is the bestselling author of five novels, including The Island and The Return, and a collection of short stories, The Last Dance and Other Stories. Her books have been translated into 30 languages. www.victoriahislop.com.
'[This] has given me more pleasure this year than almost all the rest of my reading put together' -- Mariella Frostrup This huge, beautiful book is a treasure chest... a collection so good, it's essential' * The Times * 'A rich feast' -- Nigella Lawson 'A celebration of female writers with contributions from many of our favourites' * Good Housekeeping * Beautiful... glittering... The scope is wide, rich and often unexpected' * Independent *