Born in Bromley, she grew up in Tonbridge.She read English at St Hilda's College, Oxford and worked in publishing and as a journalist before becoming an author. She lived in London for over 20 years, and now lives in Sissinghurst.

Victoria married Private Eye editor Ian Hislop on 16 April 1988 in Oxford. They have two children, Emily Helen (born 1990) and William David (born 1993).

Her first novel The Island, which the Sunday Express hailed as "the new Captain Corelli's Mandolin", was a Number 1 Bestseller in the UK, its success in part the result of having been selected by the Richard & Judy Book Club for their 2006 Summer Reads. The Island was filmed as a TV series by the Greek TV channel MEGA.

In 2009, she donated the short story Aflame in Athens to Oxfam's 'Ox-Tales' project, four collections of UK stories written by 38 authors. Her story was published in the 'Fire' collection.

Novels

• The Island (2005)
• The Return (2008)

Non fiction

• Sink or Swim: The Self-help Book for Men Who Never Read Them (2002) (with Duncan Goodhew)