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Weidenfeld & Nicolson, May 2006
Reviewed by Sally Roddom
THE SULTAN’S SEAL is set in Istanbul in 1886. A naked body of a white
woman is found floating in the Bosphorus. There are two clues: firstly, a
pendant found around the woman’s neck contains the tughra, which is the
Sultan's seal and only found in the special possession of the imperial
household. Secondly, there are distinct signs that she was drugged prior
to her entry in the sea.
Kamil Pasha, the city's magistrate, is called on to investigate the
murder, and he sees links to a similar murder of an English governess that
took place eight years earlier. That murder occurred on the estate of a
woman called Jaanan, a member of Ottoman high society in disgrace because
she fell in love with a man who tried to usurp the Sultan. Jaanan was a
child when the previous murder occurred. Kamil makes the acquaintance of
the daughter of the British Ambassador, Sybil, who has access to the most
prominent circles in the Court. She uses her connections to help Kamil
gain access to the secret world of the harem. As they work together to
untangle the truth from the lies, they make powerful enemies.
THE SULTAN’S SEAL is a historical mystery with a bit of romance thrown in.
It is an unputdownable read. Kamil has to tread lightly between two
cultures. His investigation is set in a period of turmoil in the declining
years of the Ottoman Empire. There are powerful men, cunning servants, and
the manipulations of the Sultan’s harem. In her debut novel Jenny White
has produced a multilayered story in a skilful blend of fiction and real
history. She weaves together the stories of Kamil, Sybil, and Jaanan, with
a background of the clash between the dying Ottoman Empire and the young
men within it; as well as portraying the political influence of the
English on the sequence of events. White is a lecturer at Boston
University, and is no stranger to Istanbul or its Ottoman past. She is the
author of two non-fiction books on Turkish society and politics, so she
knows her subject well. It is a book you just want to immerse yourself in.
July 2006 review originally published on Murder and Mayhem
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