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Rating: 
Summary: Not worth the time
Review: I have read quite a few historical fictions, and this one is definately sub-par. It is inspired by real people, but the author herself admits that one of her main characters is based on someone who existed nearly 100 years BEFORE the events in the book. It seemed badly written and tried too hard to erotic, but ended up being repeative and gross.
Definately leave this alone.
Rating: 
Summary: Impossible to put down!
Review: I was asked to read this book as a favor to a librarian because I like historical fiction. This story didn't disappoint with it's vivid descriptions of life in a harem, the brutality of the times and the interesting "who dunnit" that was, for me, a surprise until the end. There's a lot of sex in this book, almost too much, so if this offends you be aware.
Rating: 
Summary: "They are renowned for their passion in Love."
Review: I'm unsure whether this is Debbie Taylor's first foray into fiction, particularly historical fiction. Whatever the case, I was a little disappointed in this novel, as other reviewers have liked it and had given it glowing reviews. After a good start full of vivid descriptions of life on a ship sailing to the Colonies, the story becomes sluggish and dawdles, as we enter the world of the harem, and Helen transforms from a malnourished Irish lass, to a well-fed "cow like" woman, ready for her first sexual encounter with the Emperor. The first part of the novel is the most effective, when Helen is taken captive by pirates and then sold into slavery, and the descriptive passages are indeed wonderfully atmospheric with "the sour smell of vomit, the sup of stenches, and the rats nibbling in the rotting rubbish."Once ensconced the harem, Helen is discovered by Microphilius, a witty, softhearted dwarf who also purports to be Scottish. Microphilius overseas the harem and the needs of the Emperor himself but jealousies and envy starts to run amuck, when Microphilius develops a crush on the red headed, green eyed, and pale skinned beauty from Scotland. Taylor portrays the harem of the Emperor as a mystifying, voluptuous and forbidding place where women of all shapes and sizes spend their days washing their hair, making themselves up and preparing themselves for being chosen to "make sex" with the Emperor. With their "tattooed faces" and "powerful thighs", all the women think of is the "clothes, the paint, the dancing - it's all for sex, to make them good for sex, and for carrying babies." Taylor also does do a good job of showing the bitchy political intent along with the strained and unlikely friendships that Helen develops with the other women. And with Microphilius's help, Helen gradually negotiates the politics of the harem and eventually competes with the Emperor's favour. A kind of whodunit follows when Helen is forced to confront poison, death and danger as she is selected to become the Emperor's fourth queen. Although Taylor raises some interesting questions about the body and soul: "what is the body except clothing for the spirit, the fleshy barrier dividing spirits from one another", the story is generally quite dull, tedious, and un-absorbing. Too much time is taken in setting up the premise for Helen's first sexual encounter with the Emperor, which isn't really that exciting anyway, and Taylor's style seems just so cluttered and overly descriptive in all the wrong places. The narrative doesn't flow, as gracefully and mellifluously, as it should. There is no doubt that historical fiction is a hard medium to get right, but I'm not sure whether The Fourth Queen is a particularly successful example of this medium. If you want to read some good, high-quality historical fiction that has been published recently, read Sara Dunant's The Birth of Venus. Michael
Rating: 
Summary: An erotic tale of intrigue behind harem walls
Review: In The Fourth Queen, Taylor weaves an intriguing and erotic tale of life in a harem, where the rooms are filled with incense, beautiful women, jewels and jealousy. Circa 1769, the Emperor of Morocco is allowed by religious law to marry four queens. However, those queens are exposed to all manner of sabotage from the other women in the harem, those who covet their enviable positions. When Helen Gloag sails from Scotland on a ship bound for Boston, she is anticipating a new life in America. But after her ship is attacked and boarded by pirates, who abscond with the cargo and the passengers, Gloag is lost to history; here author Taylor fills in the missing details of this true-life figure. Favored with pale, freckled skin and red-gold curls, Helen is chosen by the Emperor of Morocco for his harem, so enamored is he of the pale flesh of European women. A favorite of the emperor, Helen is immersed in endless days of luxury, outrageously pampered for the emperor's enjoyment. She falls in love with this man, seduced by her own newfound concupiscence and becomes his fourth wife. Jealousy festers among the women, in spite of the indulgence and luxury of harem life, each craving the attention of the emperor, each dreaming of carrying his heir. The harem's women are supervised by the Chief Eunuch, Microphilius, a dwarf, who falls under Helen's spell. Microphilius harbors a secret: he is not emasculated like the other royal eunuchs. The Black Queen, the emperor's second wife, is a mountain of fleshly pulchritude who takes Microphilius as her lover. This queen observes his attraction to Helen, but tolerates this shared affection. Suddenly, one of the queens falls ill, slowly losing her beauty and her wits. Then Helen is stricken, forced to withdraw from the emperor's embrace; and finally, a third queen, indicating that either some terrible punishment has been visited upon the queens or someone is secretly poisoning them. Microphilius must discover the cause or the culprit. The story is told from two perspectives: Helen's and Microphilius'. Helen is both naïve and gluttonous, hungry for wealth and attention. Microphilius watches with his more objective masculine perspective, observing an emperor capable of savage inhumanity towards others, renowned for his disparate cruelties. As Helen fall hopelessly in love, Microphilius allows her this self-deception, protecting her interests and comforting her when she becomes mysteriously ill. The heavily claustrophobic air of the women's quarters turns from convivial to menacing as the emperor's pawns dance for the man who controls their fate, their small world restricted to the most intimate and selfish emotions. Taylor crafts a stunning and imaginative novel of life in a royal harem, the pages rich with the colorful personalities of the women and their interminable machinations. For all their isolation, the ladies of the harem exact their personal revenges upon the emperor's realm. Happily, excessive erotic detail doesn't sidetrack the author's focus; this excellent novel is a tightly woven tapestry of distorted emotions and unfulfilled yearning for a life more simple and livable. Luan Gaines/2004.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Historical Novel
Review: THE FOURTH QUEEN by Debbie Taylor
Courtesy of www.Loveromances.com Debbie Taylor's THE FOURTH QUEEN takes the reader into the world of the harems of Morocco, where a young Scottish girl has been kidnapped and taken to live with thousands of other women to be the playthings of the Emperor. Comparable to Dora Levy Mossanen's HAREM, THE FOURTH QUEEN takes a young woman from a culture outside that of Middle Eastern heritage, and places her into a foreign world full of strange foods, colors, music, and values. But, while HAREM was filled with magical deeds and other wonderful things akin to fairy tales, THE FOURTH QUEEN is rooted in reality. Both books share a wealth of knowledge of this time and place in history, a world vastly different from that descended from the culture of Western Europe. It is the mid-1700's, and young Helen Gloag is on a ship headed towards the New World. She is looking for a new life away from Scotland and a life of poverty that she wanted desperately to escape. As the ship is headed toward its destination, it is attacked by pirates and she, along with many of the women, are taken to Morocco to be sold. Helen's life takes on a strange turn. She is now ensconced in the life of the harem, one of thousands of women that are vying for the attention of the Emperor of Morocco. Only four lucky women are chosen as queens, and while at first Helen finds her new life horrid and unbearable, she soon learns the ways of this culture, and aspires to be one of the lucky four. She gains weight to be more of a prize catch, as large women are considered beautiful, while thin women are considered undesirable. She learns how to apply makeup in a much different way than is done in her native land of Scotland. No more corsets. The larger the stomach and buttocks, the more appealing she will be to the opposite sex. Helen is slowly transformed into a woman that belongs in Morocco, no longer recognizable as that young Scottish girl, even taking on a new name Aziza. Along her journey to this highest of positions, she befriends one of the queens, Batoom, known as the Black Queen, who takes Helen under her wing. Helen also meets the head Eunuch, Fijil, a Scottish dwarf who was captured many years ago and is now one of the most notable men working under the Emperor. Fijil finds himself in love with the lovely Helen, but he knows that his fate will never allow him to capture the love of this Scottish lass. He hides his feelings for her as best he can, becoming one of the best friends Helen could possibly have in this new world of hers. Helen's only goal at this time is to become a queen, and she cannot see past the jewels and the wealth that would go with that title. A wonderful tale of love, greed, and power, THE FOURTH QUEEN was a book that at first did not catch this reviewer's interest. But, as one continues with each chapter, it is easy to succumb to the charms of this story. Debbie Taylor did an excellent job with highly descriptive particulars on what life in a harem was like. She interspersed her story with the erotic passions that came with living in a harem. She wove highly illustrative details of the foods that were enjoyed by Helen, so that the reader could imagine tasting and eating them. One could feel the heat that bore down on Helen day in and day out, and could imagine the life that she led with the emperor, with whom she was consumed with a desire so strong that she could see nothing else. The fascinating aspect of this book is that THE FOURTH QUEEN was based on a person straight from history. Helen Gloag did exist, as did Fijil and the Emperor. History shows that there were indeed several Empresses of Morocco with red hair. Taylor took the liberties to write a story with these characters, and although they may not have co-existed in the same time period, Taylor did a good job making this story work. It has truly ignited in this reviewer an already burgeoning interest in the world of the ancient Ottoman Empire. This book is highly recommended to lovers of historical fiction everywhere.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, fast paced read!
Review: The Fourth Queen is a novel, based on a true story, about a Scottish woman captured by pirates and sold to harem of the Emporer of Morocco. Helen Gloag is running away from mistakes she made in her native Scotland but finds herself in a worse situation when she becomes the property of an Emporer. The story covers the first year or so that Helen is in the harem and includes stories of love, hate, jealousy and betrayal. I found this book to be hard to put down and it made me so appreciate the freedom I enjoy as a woman living in the U.S.
Rating:
Summary: Very nice, definately a page-turner
Review: This is a pretty good historical novel that, at the very least, functions as an effective page-turner and an intriguing "whodunit." Ms. Taylor obviously did her research, and the facts she weaves into this historical account add a great deal of energy to the narrative. Despite what some of the other reviewers are saying, this is not by any means a "romance novel." In fact, any descriptions of sex in the book (and there are only two; the rest of the scenes are just hinted at) are actually written in a way that conveys the unsettling nature of forced/coerced sex within a harem. In addition, the violence described in the book is sickeningly real enough (and historically accurate, unfortunately) that this factor alone propels this book out of the "romance" genre. IMHO, the only off note in this book was the strangely quick way Helen became a Queen. The reader was not adequately prepared for this, and so it seems a bit unbelievable. But all in all, if you're looking for a page-turning weekend book, definately pick this one up. It's a quick read, and you don't have to enjoy historical fiction to get your money's worth out of this one.
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