The Sultan's Seal: na

by JennyWhite (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2007

  $3.30

  A gripping tale of murder in nineteenth-century Istanbul ...The naked body of a young English woman washes up in the Bosphorus wearing a pendant inscribed with the tughra, the Sultan's seal, found only on possessions of the imperial household. The Turkish magistrate Kamil Pasha sets out to find the killer, but encounters a web of obstacles and links to the earlier killing of another English woman. Were these political murders involving the palace or crimes of personal passion? Sybil, the daughter of the English ambassador, uses her connections to help Kamil infiltrate the secret world of the harem. As they untangle the threads, they make powerful enemies in a society where the forces of tradition and modernity collide.

• Used

  Paperback
  2006

  $3.30

  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 priveleged 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 Amabassador and as such, has unique access to the most prominent circles in the Court. She uses her connections to help Kamil Pasha infiltate the secrets 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.

• Used

  Hardcover
  2006

  $3.30

  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.

• New

  Paperback
  2007

  $24.06

  Rich in sensuous detail, this first novel brilliantly captures the political and social upheavals of the waning Ottoman Empire. The naked body of a young Englishwoman washes up in Istanbul wearing a pendant inscribed with the seal of the deposed sultan. The death resembles the murder by strangulation of another English governess, a crime that was never solved. Kamil Pasha, a magistrate in the new secular courts, sets out to find the killer, but his dispassionate belief in science and modernity is shaken by betrayal and widening danger. In a lush, mystical voice, a young Muslim woman, Jaanan, recounts her own relationships with one of the dead women and her suspected killer. Were these political murders involving the palace or crimes of personal passion? An absorbing tale that transports the reader to nineteenth-century Turkey, this novel is also a lyrical meditation on the contradictory desires of the human soul. Reading group guide included. Includes the first chapter of the next Kamil Pasha novel.