Greece gives novelist Victoria Hislop honorary Greek citizenship

Victoria Hislop, the renowned author of bestsellers including “The Island” and “Those Who Are Loved,” may officially consider herself Greek.

Greece’s President Katerini Sakellaropoulou has signed an honorary naturalization order allowing the 61-year-old novelist to claim Greek citizenship.

Hislop, who has a holiday house in Crete where she spends several months a year, was granted Greek citizenship for promoting modern Greek history and culture, including the history of the tiny island of Spinalonga, off the coast of Crete, the last leper colony in Europe. Spinalonga served as the setting for her 2005 historical novel “The Island.”

The decree was published in the Greek government gazette.

Under Greek law, honorary naturalization may be granted to people “who have provided exceptional services to the country or whose naturalization serves the public interest.”