The Sultan's Seal: na

Used
Hardcover
2006
$4.62

It is the year 'Rumi', year 1302 or 1886 by the Christian calendar. The setting is Istanbul where the naked body of a white woman had been found floating in the Bosphorus. Around her neck is a pendant that contains the tughra, the Sultan's seal - a signature that is only found on special possessions of the imperial household. For Kamil Pasha, the city's magistrate, there are echoes of a similar murder - of an English governess - that took place eight years before. There are also links to a woman called Jaanan, a member of Ottoman high society who has fallen into disgrace. The body of the first victim was discovered, drowned, on the estate, where she lived with her mother and uncle. Jaanan was a privileged child who grew up amongst the 'veiled ladies' of the court, but her life changed when she fell in love with a man who was involved in a plot to overturn the Sultan. Sybil is the daughter of the English Ambassador and as such, has unique access to the most prominent circles in the Court. She uses her connections to help Kamil Pasha infiltrate the secret world of the harem, and gradually falls in love with him. As they work to untangle the threads of both murders, they make powerful enemies in a dramatic tale of court intrigue and revenge.

Synopsis

It is the year 'Rumi', year 1302 or 1886 by the Christian calendar. The setting is Istanbul where the naked body of a white woman had been found floating in the Bosphorus. Around her neck is a pendant that contains the tughra, the Sultan's seal - a signature that is only found on special possessions of the imperial household. For Kamil Pasha, the city's magistrate, there are echoes of a similar murder - of an English governess - that took place eight years before. There are also links to a woman called Jaanan, a member of Ottoman high society who has fallen into disgrace. The body of the first victim was discovered, drowned, on the estate, where she lived with her mother and uncle. Jaanan was a privileged child who grew up amongst the 'veiled ladies' of the court, but her life changed when she fell in love with a man who was involved in a plot to overturn the Sultan. Sybil is the daughter of the English Ambassador and as such, has unique access to the most prominent circles in the Court. She uses her connections to help Kamil Pasha infiltrate the secret world of the harem, and gradually falls in love with him. As they work to untangle the threads of both murders, they make powerful enemies in a dramatic tale of court intrigue and revenge.

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 368
Edition: First Edition
Publisher: W&N
Published: 09 Mar 2006
ISBN 10: 0297852566
ISBN 13: 9780297852568
Book Overview: A stunning book - the quality of writing of Sarah Waters; the sense of place of Rights are already sold in USA, German, Greece, France, Turkey, Spain, Italy, Holland with more deals to come This is very commercial literary fiction, a real page-turner, with a romantic setting - the Ottoman Court. As an article in the Bookseller said Richard & Judy have focused publishers on the commercial mid-market, They have made everybody aware how well an extremely readable, intelligent, book that moves you can sell.' The Sultan's Seal ticks all of these boxes. The two main love stories blend skillfully with the mystery

Media Reviews

'A remarkable piece of fiction...This is a fast-paced read with a breathless, page-turning pace, and a sense of mounting tension...written in gorgeously sensuous language...As well as being a gripping thriller, The Sultan's Seal is a knowledgeable portrayal of life in 19th-century Turkey, as it struggles to find a middle road between traditional Eastern values and the modern attitudes of the West' WATERSTONES BOOKS QUARTERLY 'in her highly accomplished first novel Jenny White, whose subject is Turkish society and politics, steers a clever course between action and background...A neat mystery and persuasive portrait of credible people is joined seamlessly onto a fascinating portrait of Turkey at a time of fateful transition.' -- Jessica Mann LITERARY REVIEW (May 2006)

Author Bio

Jenny White is a tenured professor of anthropology at Boston University, specializing in Turkish studies. She's written monographs on 20th-century politics and has been studying the Islamic party that recently won the elections in Turkey. Her book on that party became required reading in the State Department. She started writing THE SULTAN'S SEAL because she wanted to do something fun.