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The Wine-Dark Sea

Victoria Hislop explores the turbulence of the post-war era in Greece in this unforgettable and riveting new novel that will delight those fans who cherish The Island and The Figurine. Greece, 1946. In the power vacuum remaining after the Second World War, a brutal civil war erupts between rival left- and right-wing factions.

The conflict spirals as the country pays a bitter price in human lives and fighting soon erupts in the mountains, turning villages into battlefields and pulling ordinary women and children into the fray. When the government soldiers come to Kalopetra, Fotini is nursing her newborn second child. She urges her daughter, Iliana, to hide with the older children as she and the other women are herded into trucks.

Weeks later, soldiers return for the children but they are not to be reunited with their mothers, a wholly different fate awaits them. Fotini finds herself transported to a prison on the island of Chios, where she befriends Markella, whose little son, Nikos, is wise beyond his years. After months of imprisonment, when Fotini and Markella find themselves separated from one another – and from Nikos – Fotini vows to hunt not only for her own child but for Markella’s too.

The Wine-Dark Sea tells of families flung apart across continents and of a strong, determined mother who resolves not to let war destroy hers. Victoria Hislop is at the height of her storytelling powers in this compelling and thought-provoking new novel, which offers insight into a little-known chapter of Greek history.

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Praise for the Wine-Dark Sea

A stunning new story from the bestselling author of The Island. Set in post-civil war Greece, it follows Fontini – a mother who loses both her children and is imprisoned. Once released, she is determined to find them. A powerful, historical story inspired by real events.
– Prima Magazine

In this deeply moving story, set against the turmoil of post-war Greece, a mother desperately searches for her two missing children: a daughter abducted and a son sold into adoption.
– My Weekly

Thought provoking,’ says Carol Glenn. Greece in 1946, as civil war engulfs the nation, Fotini is torn from her children when soldiers raid her village. Imprisoned on Chios, she befriends fellow captive Markella. Determined war won’t destroy her family, Fotini vows to find her child and Markella’s son too.
– Yours Magazine

A dramatic saga set in the 1940s Greek Civil War. Along with her baby son, Fotini is captured and imprisoned by the Hellenic Army. Her daughter has hidden, only to be taken by communists. Will Fotini find her daughter and a friend’s son, sold into forced adoption? A superb page-turner that brings history to life.
– Woman & Home

Life is simple for Fotini and her family in the mountain hamlet of Kalopetra – until the Greek War tears things apart. Government soldiers haul Fotini and her newborn son to a detention centre, then to a jail on Chios island. Her daughter, Iliana, hides with other children but is captured weeks later and sent elsewhere. Fotini refuses to give up hope of seeing her again. But with war raging, will they ever be reunited? A powerful story of war, separation and motherhood.
– The Sun

In 1946 Greece, as Fotini nurses her newborn son, her country is spinning into civil war. Soon she is separated from her daughter and imprisoned. Hislop brings to life a horrifying, little-known chapter of Greek history.
–  i Paper

The author of the 6-million-selling The Island is back with her 10th novel – and it’s as meticulously researched and richly atmospheric as you would expect. WW2 is over, but a brutal civil war is just beginning in Greece. When she is separated from her daughter, Fotini promises to find her again.
– Fabulous Magazine

Selected Reading List

Writing any historical novel requires deliving deep into historical sources, not merely about facts and dates, but about customs and culture, food and fabrics – all the things that go to make up a place and time. Below is a partial reading list for those interest in exploring the subject further

  • The Social Organisation of Exile – Margaret E Kenna
  • Becoming a Subject – Polymeris Voglis
  • Exile – Regina Pagoulatou
  • Voices of the Lost Children of Greece – Ed. Mary Carderas
  • Marx – Peter Singer
  • After the War was Over – Ed. Mark Mazower
  • The Greek Civil War – Ed. V N Gelis
  • Women and the Greek Resistance 1941-64 – Janet Hart
  • Dangerous Citizens – Neni Panourgia
  • In the Shadow of Stalin’s Boots, Budapest – Private Planet
  • Budapest – Victor Sebestyen
  • Chian Shipping – Matheos D Los
  • A History of Greek-Owned Shipping – Gelina Harlaftis
  • The Origins of the Greek Civil War – David H Close
  • Children of the Greek Civil War – Danforth and van Boeschoten
  • Greek Traditional Costumes – Secretariat General for Press and Information
  • Chios Mastic Museum – Anna Kallinikidou
  • Dangerous Citizens – Neni Panourgia
  • New Voices in the Nation – Janet Hart
  • The Abducted Greek Children of the Communists: Paidomazoma – Niki Karavasilis
  • Chios: The Land Within – Stratis Vogiatzis
  • Oinoussa – Memories Sweet and Savoury – Katingo Evang. Angelakos
  • Adoption, Memory and Cold War Greece: Kid Pro Quo – Gonda van Steen
  • Ripped at the Root – Mary Carderas
  • American Baby – Gabrielle Glaser
  • Abandoned 43668 Maria – Maria Theodoropoulou
  • Twentieth-Century Janissary – C Dionysios Dionou
  • Beyond the Third Door – Maria Heckinger
  • A Son from the Mountains – Andrew Mossin
  • The Other Half of the Same Story –
    Kathryn Scangas Diamond/Efterpi Argyriadis
  • Homer’s Odyssey – trans Emily Wilson
  • Homer’s Odyssey – trans Alexander Pope
  • Homer’s Odyssey trans T E Lawrence
  • Before the Uprising – Hungary under Communism 1949 – 1956
  • A Measure of Understanding – Queen Frederica of the Hellenes – * BOOK ON QF BY FRIEND
  • Frederica, Queen of the Hellenes – Lilika S Papanicolaou
  • Eleni – Nicholas Gage
  • Patterns of Magnificence – Tradition and Reinvention in Greek Women’s Costume – Ed Ioanna Papantoniou
  • ΟΙ ΔΩΣΙΛΟΓΟΙ – ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ ΧΑΡΑΛΑΜΠΗΔΗΣ
  • ΚΟΡΙΤΣΙΑ ΣΕ ΠΕΡΙΚΛΕΙΣΤΟΥΣ ΧΩΡΕΣ – ΜΑΡΙΑ ΦΑΦΑΛΙΟΥ
  • ΟΙ ΔΩΣΙΛΟΓΟΙ – ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ ΧΑΡΑΛΑΜΠΗΔΗΣ
  • ΚΟΡΙΤΣΙΑ ΣΕ ΠΕΡΙΚΛΕΙΣΤΟΥΣ ΧΩΡΕΣ – ΜΑΡΙΑ ΦΑΦΑΛΙΟΥ
  • ΧΙΟΣ – Η ΖΟΗ ΣΤΗΝ ΚΟΤΟΧΗ – ΔΗΜΗΤΡΗΣ ΦΡΕΖΟΥΛΗΣ
  • ΧΙΟΣ – 1943-44 – ΣΥΜΜΑΧΙΚΗ ΑΠΟΣΤΟΛΗ ΚΑΙ ΕΘΝΙΚΗ ΑΝΤΙΣΤΑΣΗ – ΠΑΝΑΓΙΩΤΗ Δ ΚΑΡΑΣΟΥΛΗ
  • ΧΙΟΣ – ΟΙ ΠΡΟΣΦΥΓΕΣ ΤΗΣ ΚΑΤΟΧΗΣ – ΔΗΜΗΤΡΗΣ ΦΡΕΖΟΥΔΗΣ
  • ΣΤΡΑΤΟΠΕΔΑ ΓΥΝΑΙΚΩΝ –
    ΕΠΙΜΕΛΕΙΑ ΒΙΚΤΩΡΙΑΣ ΘΕΟΔΩΡΟΥ
  • ΗΜΕΡΟΛΟΓΙΑ ΑΣΥΡΜΑΤΟΥ – ΠΑΝΑΓΙΟΤΗΣ Δ ΚΑΡΑΣΟΥΔΙΣ
  • ΜΙΑ ΣΤΑΓΟΝΑ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑΣ ΤΗΣ ΧΙΟΥ 1934-44 –
    ΓΙΑΝΝΗΣ ΤΖΟΥΜΑΣ
  • ΑΠΡΟΒΛΕΠΤΕΣ ΔΙΑΔΡΟΜΕΣ – ΧΑΡΑΛΑΜΠΟΣ ΒΛΑΧΟΣ
  • ΑΛΕΧΑΝΔΡΑ – ΑΛΕΚ ΜΠΑΦΑΤΑΚΗ-ΠΑΠΑΙΩΑΚΕΙΜ
  • ΒΙΒΛΙΟΘΗΚΗ ΧΙΟΥ «ΚΟΡΑΗΣ» – ΑΘΗΝΑ ΖΑΧΑΡΟΥ-ΛΟΓΡΑΠΗ
  • ΑΕΝΑΟΝ ΤΟ ΤΗΣ ΜΑΣΙΧΗΣ ΔΑΚΡΥ –
    ΘΕΟΔΩΡΗΣ Ν ΣΙΔΕΡΑΚΗΣ
  • ΒΟΤΣΑΛΩΤΕΣ ΑΥΛΕΣ ΤΗΣ ΧΙΟΥ – ΜΑΡΙΑ ΞΥΔΑ
  • ΜΝΗΜΕΣ ΑΠΟ ΤΑ ΧΡΟΝΙΑ ΤΟΥ ΧΙΟΥ – ΕΥΑΓΓΕΛΙΑ ΜΕΙΜΕΤΗ/ΣΩΤΗΡΗΣ ΠΤΣΑΤΖΑΚΗΣ/ΚΩΝΣΤΑΝΤΙΝΟΣ ΚΑΡΟΖΗΣ/ΧΑΡΙΚΛΕΙΑ ΛΟΥΠΑ
  • Η ΑΡΧΙΤΕΚΤΟΝΙΚΗ ΚΛΗΡΟΝΟΜΙΑ ΤΩΝ ΟΙΝΟΥΣΣΩΝ –
    ΝΙΚΟΣ ΣΚΟΥΤΕΛΗΣ/ΦΛΑΒΙΟΣ ΖΑΝΟΝ
  • ΑΝΕΠΙΘΥΜΗΤΟ ΠΑΡΕΛΘΟΝ – ΒΑΓΓΕΛΙΣ ΚΑΡΑΜΑΝΟΛΑΚΗΣ
  • ΧΙΟΣ – Η ΖΟΗ ΣΤΗΝ ΚΟΤΟΧΗ – ΔΗΜΗΤΡΗΣ ΦΡΕΖΟΥΛΗΣ
  • ΧΙΟΣ – 1943-44 – ΣΥΜΜΑΧΙΚΗ ΑΠΟΣΤΟΛΗ ΚΑΙ ΕΘΝΙΚΗ ΑΝΤΙΣΤΑΣΗ – ΠΑΝΑΓΙΩΤΗ Δ ΚΑΡΑΣΟΥΛΗ
  • ΧΙΟΣ – ΟΙ ΠΡΟΣΦΥΓΕΣ ΤΗΣ ΚΑΤΟΧΗΣ – ΔΗΜΗΤΡΗΣ ΦΡΕΖΟΥΔΗΣ
  • ΣΤΡΑΤΟΠΕΔΑ ΓΥΝΑΙΚΩΝ –
    ΕΠΙΜΕΛΕΙΑ ΒΙΚΤΩΡΙΑΣ ΘΕΟΔΩΡΟΥ
  • ΗΜΕΡΟΛΟΓΙΑ ΑΣΥΡΜΑΤΟΥ – ΠΑΝΑΓΙΟΤΗΣ Δ ΚΑΡΑΣΟΥΔΙΣ
  • ΜΙΑ ΣΤΑΓΟΝΑ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑΣ ΤΗΣ ΧΙΟΥ 1934-44 –
    ΓΙΑΝΝΗΣ ΤΖΟΥΜΑΣ
  • ΑΠΡΟΒΛΕΠΤΕΣ ΔΙΑΔΡΟΜΕΣ – ΧΑΡΑΛΑΜΠΟΣ ΒΛΑΧΟΣ
  • ΑΛΕΧΑΝΔΡΑ – ΑΛΕΚ ΜΠΑΦΑΤΑΚΗ-ΠΑΠΑΙΩΑΚΕΙΜ
  • ΒΙΒΛΙΟΘΗΚΗ ΧΙΟΥ «ΚΟΡΑΗΣ» – ΑΘΗΝΑ ΖΑΧΑΡΟΥ-ΛΟΓΡΑΠΗ
  • ΑΕΝΑΟΝ ΤΟ ΤΗΣ ΜΑΣΙΧΗΣ ΔΑΚΡΥ –
    ΘΕΟΔΩΡΗΣ Ν ΣΙΔΕΡΑΚΗΣ
  • ΒΟΤΣΑΛΩΤΕΣ ΑΥΛΕΣ ΤΗΣ ΧΙΟΥ – ΜΑΡΙΑ ΞΥΔΑ
  • ΜΝΗΜΕΣ ΑΠΟ ΤΑ ΧΡΟΝΙΑ ΤΟΥ ΧΙΟΥ – ΕΥΑΓΓΕΛΙΑ ΜΕΙΜΕΤΗ/ΣΩΤΗΡΗΣ ΠΤΣΑΤΖΑΚΗΣ/ΚΩΝΣΤΑΝΤΙΝΟΣ ΚΑΡΟΖΗΣ/ΧΑΡΙΚΛΕΙΑ ΛΟΥΠΑ
  • Η ΑΡΧΙΤΕΚΤΟΝΙΚΗ ΚΛΗΡΟΝΟΜΙΑ ΤΩΝ ΟΙΝΟΥΣΣΩΝ –
    ΝΙΚΟΣ ΣΚΟΥΤΕΛΗΣ/ΦΛΑΒΙΟΣ ΖΑΝΟΝ
  • ΑΝΕΠΙΘΥΜΗΤΟ ΠΑΡΕΛΘΟΝ – ΒΑΓΓΕΛΙΣ ΚΑΡΑΜΑΝΟΛΑΚΗΣ