Book 1 of The Island
Alexis Fielding and her boyfriend Ed are on holiday in Hania on Crete (Greece). Ed wants to spend some time in the sun, on the beach and Alexis wants to visit her mum Sofia’s friend Fotini in Plaka on the other side of the island. She has a letter from Sofia for Fotini. The older woman who was a friend of Sofia’s aunt is tasked with telling Alexis her family’s story.
Eleni and Giorgis Petrakis live in Plaka, opposite the island Spinalonga, the leper colony island, with their two daughters Anna and Maria. Eleni contracts leprosy and is sent to live on Spinalonga. Giorgis has always ferried patients and supplies to the island. There are two forms of leprosy, one that moves very slowly, and the other moves fast. Unfortunately, Eleni has contracted the fast moving variety. After spending several years in the colony, she passes away.
A few years later a rich man, Andreas Vandoulakis, falls in love with Anna, she marries him and moves to Elounda (the next town over from Plaka). Shortly after their marriage, Andreas’s cousin Manolis appears in their lives. Manolis is a womaniser who tries to seduce Anna. Anna is flattered but introduces him to his sister Maria. Manolis starts courting Maria, and Anna is jealous. When Manolis asks Giorgis for his blessing to marry Maria, he gives it gladly. Shortly before the wedding Maria notices a spot on her foot and she soon learns that she too has leprosy. The wedding is called off and Maria moves to Spinalonga. Anna and Manolis start seeing each other – Andreas is too busy to notice.
The doctor, Nikolaos “Nikos” Kiritsis, who diagnoses Maria is doing research into a cure for leprosy. They soon start testing the medicine on the inhabitants of Spinalonga, and Maria reacts well to the medication. Dr Kiritsis declares his love for Maria after she is cured and asks her to marry him. She agrees. But fate has other things in store…
This was an emotional read. I didn’t like Anna very much, and Maria is the epitome of virtue in this book – she seemed like a lovely woman.
Read for the PopSugar Reading Challenge 2025
Prompt 16: A book set in or around a body of water
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
