Historical fiction fans should run to the nearest library and check out The Mapmaker's Daughter by Katherine Nouri Hughes. The best part about historical fiction is learning about some aspect of real history previously unknown to us, and that cannot be more true than in this novel about the life of Nurbanu, born Cecilia Baffo Veniero—the mesmerizing, illegitimate Venetian who became the most powerful woman in the Ottoman Empire at the height of its power under Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.
This incredible story has reviewers raving:
“A heartbreaking read that marries a strong story arc with a dedication to historical details.”
— Booklist starred review
“A fascinating evocation of the major players of the Ottoman renaissance.”
— Kirkus Reviews
“When the fiction is good, the history is usually distorted, and on the rare occasions when the history is good, the fiction is usually less interesting than the straight historical narrative. This novel is a remarkable exception… part history, part fiction, it is enthralling.”
— Bernard Lewis, Cleveland E. Dodge Professor of Near Eastern Studies, Emeritus, Princeton University
“Of all the appetites the lust for power is the strongest—and most dangerous. This is a lively, absorbing and utterly convincing self-portrait of a woman who came under the influence of the greatest of all Ottoman sultans—with tragic consequences.”
— Edmund White, author of Inside a Pearl: My Years in Paris
“Based on a historical event of rare improbability—the rise in the sixteenth century of a daughter of Venice to the rank of Queen Mother in the mighty Ottoman Empire—this novel is a gorgeous feat of imagination, a stellar work by a gifted writer.”
— Arnold Rampersand, Stanford University, author of Ralph Ellison
This debut is a perfect blend of story and history that fans of Goddess by Kelly Gardiner or The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman won't want to miss.
-Amanda