The Sultan's Seal: A Novel
by Jenny White
List Price:
Our Price: $2.39
You Save: $22.56 (90%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Jenny WhiteEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-02-13
ISBN: 0393060993
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Book Reviews of The Sultan's Seal: A Novel
Book Review: "I have been saved from myself so thoroughly that I am left with a stranger."
Summary: 4 Stars
In the exotic climate of 19th century Turkey, a European governess is found drowned; it is later determined that she has been murdered. The investigation falls to the local magistrate of the region, Kamil Pasha. After establishing the woman's identity, a governess in the Sultan's household, Mary Dixon, Kamil's task becomes decidedly more difficult, separating truth from falsehoods in a complicated political climate where intrigue is endemic to court life. The Ottoman Empire is in turmoil at this point in history, the British insinuating themselves into local politics in an effort to stabilize the region and discourage an alliance with the Russians. Probing for information from reluctant subjects, Kamil sorts through misinformation and half-truths, the most troubling evidence a silver necklace found on Mary's body that leads him to the death of another European governess in the Sultan's employ a few years earlier.
In Turkey, bureaucracy is layered with ritual, bribery, social agendas and self-protection. Thanks to current political uncertainties, the magistrate must navigate the subtle tension between cultures, the British presence disturbing the balance of the old ways, threatening the future. Kamil treads lightly as he interviews a variety of persons who may hold the key to Mary's death, an agonizingly slow process. Most prefer that this distasteful subject go away before anyone important is embarrassed, the mystery made more difficult by the constraints of a society with rigid standards of behavior, each new clue fraught with ambiguity. From the royal palaces to the home of the English ambassador, Kamil uncovers unexpected intrigues, finding himself attracted to an unlikely young woman, the English ambassador's daughter, Sybil. It is she who discovers a critical piece of information, thanks to her friendship with the women of the harem, unwittingly putting herself in danger in her naiveté and desire to please the conscientious magistrate.
White unveils an assortment of characters straight out of the pages of Scheherazade, powerful men and their servants, eunuchs, manipulative women in the Sultan's harem and a young woman who suffers the rejection of society after a brutal attack that ruins her hope for marriage. Individual stories take on lives of their own, clouding the murder with layers of deceit, passion and betrayal. Anthropologist White does an impressive job, mixing fiction with history, the changing face of the Ottoman Empire struggling against outside influences, a burgeoning science vs. traditional religion and a patriarchal society that leaves women to forge their own rules, where jealousy foments in silence and power is sheathed in a velvet glove, but just as deadly. Luan Gaines/ 2006.
Historical Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Historical Books
Pirate Latitudes: A Novelby Michael Crichton
Harper; Published: 2009-11-24; Roughcut; Book
Best price: $2.28
Price in other shops:
The Master Butchers Singing Club: A Novelby Louise Erdrich
Harper Perennial; Published: 2004-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.83
Price in other shops:
The Last Witchfinder: A Novelby James Morrow
William Morrow; Published: 2006-03-14; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.95
Price in other shops:
Zorroby Isabel Allende
HarperAudio; Published: 2005-05-03; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $3.01
Price in other shops:
The Hot Kid: A Novelby Elmore Leonard
William Morrow; Published: 2005-05-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.89
Price in other shops:
The Last Kingdom (The Saxon Chronicles Series #1)Mass Market Paperback; Book
Bones of the Hills (Conqueror, Book 3)by Conn Iggulden
Harper Collins Canada; Published: 2008; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $44.70
Marchby Geraldine Brooks
Penguin Books; Published: 2006; Paperback; Book
Gates of Rome (Emperor 1)by Conn Iggulden
Harpercollins Pb; Published: 2003-09-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.80
Girl With a Pearl Earringby Tracy Chevalier
Harper Collins Audio; Published: 2002-06-17; Audio Cassette; Book
Best price: $86.82
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
The Janissary Tree: A Novelby Jason Goodwin
Picador; Published: 2007-05-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.40
Price in other shops:
The Snake Stone: A Novelby Jason Goodwin
Picador; Published: 2008-09-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.28
Price in other shops:
The Bellini Card (Investigator Yashim)by Jason Goodwin
Picador; Published: 2010-03-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.99
Price in other shops:
The Bellini Card: A Novelby Jason Goodwin
Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Published: 2009-03-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $1.00
Price in other shops:
The Janissary Tree: A Novelby Jason Goodwin
Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Published: 2006-05-16; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops:
The Abyssinian Proof: A Kamil Pasha Novelby Jenny White
W. W. Norton & Company; Published: 2009-03-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.83
Price in other shops:
The Winter Thief: A Kamil Pasha Novel (Kamil Pasha Novels)by Jenny White
W. W. Norton & Company; Published: 2010-03-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.92
Price in other shops:
The Abyssinian Proof: A Kamil Pasha Novel (Kamil Pasha Novels)by Jenny White
W. W. Norton & Company; Published: 2008-02-17; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.00
Price in other shops:
An Evil Eye: A Novelby Jason Goodwin
Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Published: 2011-03-29; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.78
Price in other shops:
The Janissary Tree: A Novelby Jason Goodwin
Picador; Published: 2007-05-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.95
Price in other shops: