The Sultan's Harem

Rating:
Summary: REVISIONIST HISTORY AT ITS FINEST
Review: Even the imaginative Scherazade could not have woven tales more fascinating than the stories revealed by those behind the giant doors of the Sublime Porte during the Ottoman Empire. "The Sultan's Harem" is revisionist historical fiction at its finest, skillfully weaving fact and fantasy to create a tapestry of intrigue and passion. Readers of Colin Falconer's story of Cleopatra, "When We Were Gods," will be equally mesmerized by his portrayal of the absolute ruler Suleyman and the women who were able to bring him down.

Rich with period detail "The Sultan's Harem" is an epic drama whose star is Suleyman the Magnificent. At that time Constantinople knew only one mighty ruler:sultan, Suleyman, "Lord of Lords of this World, Possessor of Men's Necks, Allah's Deputy." He ruled not with an iron fist in a velvet glove but solely with an iron fist.

His home was an opulent palace, and at the heart of the palace was his Harem, the envy of many European kings. Here lived hundreds of women, women of them never even saw their master. Traditionally, a harem was described as the women's portion of a Muslim household. In Suleyman's case it was a small community comprised of hundreds of women, including his mother, his daughters, his favorites, plus countless concubines and slaves. It was a place where power was currency.

Among those who had found favor with Suleyman were Gulbehar, the mother of his heir; Julia, a young Italian woman who had been kidnaped; and Hurrem from the Russian steppes who had been sold as a slave.

Of the trio Hurremwass the most greedy, the most conniving, determined to have total authority in the Harem and even over Suleyman himself. Step by careful step she undercut her rivals just as she ingratiated herself with Suleyman. He becames obsessed by her until she who was once a slave is now t mistress, holding the power.

Falconer's story is taken from a time during the 16th and 17th centuries in Ottoman Turkey which was called The Reign of Women, when the Sultan's mother and his favorites usurped his power and position. Factually little is known beyond that. Leave it to the innovative Falconer to once again bring history to wide screen, full color life.

- Gail Cooke



Rating:
Summary: soap opera
Review: i dont understand how anyone could have given this book 5 stars. there is hardly any character developement just twists and turns and a plot that makes as much sense as the unjustifiable plot twists in day time soaps. Why does hurrem hate the sultan so much? what motivates her? the intrigue was distracting and didnt make much sense. it was a waste of valuable time. spoiler ahead. the writer doesnt even bother to tell us how imbrahim could have possily slept with hurem. I like intrigue but i didnt want to read a mindless soap opera with one dimensional characters.

Rating:
Summary: intriguing historical work of fiction
Review: In sixteenth century Turkey Sultan Suleyman has three hundred women in his harem. Of all these beautiful females his favorite is Gulbehar because she has given him a son. However, truth be told, the weight of empire building and international relations plays heavily on the weary Suleyman so he has little interest in the inner goings-on inside his harem as long as the ladies do not disturb him.

The omega entry in Suleyman's harem is the newcomer the Russian Hurrem, who resents being a slave and worse being the runt amongst a pack of subservient succubae. Her plan to be first in line immediately is to use her body to seduce Suleyman and her wiles to defeat these jackals that surround her. Thus, the ladies of the harem who previously understood their place in the queue now battle for supremacy in a scheming arena of intrigue, blackmail, and homicide. Hurrem is the ruler magically seducing Suleyman over time so that even some of his supporters in the royal court consider emulating the queen of mean to take control of the empire.

THE SULTAN'S HAREM is an intriguing historical work of fiction that highlights four decades in the inner court of Suleyman the Great during the first half of the sixteenth century. The tale crafts a comprehensive (somewhat exhausting) vivid look at the mores of the harem and to a degree the royal court especially the intrigue, treachery, and strange bedfellow politics, but fails to place any of this on the bigger stage of momentous events. Readers who appreciate an interesting solid diligent glimpse at pebbles with no boulders will enjoy the regal intrigue of Suleyman's harem.

Harriet Klausner


Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book!
Review: The other reviewer is incorrect. this book was published only in the UK and Australia under the title "Harem" over 10 years ago and I'm delighted that it's finally out in the US in this beautiful hardcover, especially since the UK editions are out of print. I suspect the title was changed because there are several books--fiction and non-fiction--called "Harem" in bookstores right now.

Colin Falconer is a wonderfully polished historical novelist whose books would make terrific movies. He has a very vivid, cinematic style of writing that doesn't flinch away from gory or bizarre historical details, but at the same time his writing is usually lush, sensual and often quite funny (I like authors with a good dark sense of humor).

The Sultan of the title is the great Suleyman the Magnificent of Turkey, and the main characters in the book are the women of his harem, including his honored first wife Gulbehar and two new slaves, Hurrem and Julia. Hurrem is a Russian girl, whose blond hair and fair skin makes her a rare commodity in the harem. Julia is a Venetian girl who was kidnapped while fleeing the city with her lover. While Julia is at first terrified and disoriented by life in the harem, Hurrem sees it as an opportunity. She is unusually clever and malicious, and determined that if she will be a slave in the harem, she will be queen of the slaves, and eventually she plots to turn tables on Suleyman himself. It's a tightly woven plot with lots of twists and turns. I highly recommend this book--it's almost unputdownable and the ending is very satisfying.

Rating:
Summary: A Fraud on the Reading Public
Review: This book is very good. The problem is that it was published under the name "Harem", 10 years ago. I read it then and it seemed familiar when I read this one. Doesn't a publisher have an obligation to advise the reading public that this is a recycled book?