The paper discusses the historical romantic novel The Island (2005) by contemporary British writer Victoria Hislop (b. 1959) in the context of literary tourism. Hislop set her novel on Crete, depicting the tragic and a long-time silenced part of Greek history connected with the leper colony on the island of Spinalonga in the years 1903 to 1957. Hislop's novel became an international bestseller and turned the island, together with the Elounda Gulf and town Agios Nikolaos, into one of the most popular tourist areas in Crete. Focusing on the effect of the novel on the place, the paper predominantly discusses the presentation of the setting from a perspective of literary tourism studies, addressing the psychological impact of a literary travel on the tourist-protagonist.