Book Recommendations
The Harem Midwife
By Roberta Rich
Fiction, Historical, General, Romance, Medieval | 320 pages
1 recommendation
Safiye had more to worry about than simply birthing this child. Her only son might not live to hear the call for morning prayers. If there ever was a time when the Empire required a male heir it was now.
In the opulent royal palace of Murat III, on the shores of Constantinople, midwife Hannah Levi is charged with ensuring the Sultan’s harem provides him with a male heir.
If she fails, the entire Ottoman Empire will collapse. But the slave girl who has been stolen away to be the Sultan’s latest concubine is not all she seems...
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Veronica Allan
"Roberta Rich continues the story of Isaac and Hannah Levi who we first met in The Midwife of Venice (see my review under Italy). Although Istanbul has changed and grown more than Venice since the 16th century, a curious traveller will find many locations in this work of fiction, and be able to visualize the lives of its protagonists.
Since Hannah’s dramatic escape from Venice and her reunion with Isaac, the couple have prospered in Constantinople. Isaac owns a silk shop and Hannah continues to practice midwifery in the Sultan’s enormous harem. One night Hannah receives an unusual summons, one with an ethical challenge: to examine a young woman who the Sultan hopes will secure his dynasty by producing an heir. Hannah’s livelihood and the young woman’s future hang in the balance, because first he must be assured she is a virgin.
Again, Roberta Rich will lead you on a suspenseful journey while illuminating the history of the Ottoman Empire so much of which will surround and intrigue you when you visit present-day Istanbul."
Since Hannah’s dramatic escape from Venice and her reunion with Isaac, the couple have prospered in Constantinople. Isaac owns a silk shop and Hannah continues to practice midwifery in the Sultan’s enormous harem. One night Hannah receives an unusual summons, one with an ethical challenge: to examine a young woman who the Sultan hopes will secure his dynasty by producing an heir. Hannah’s livelihood and the young woman’s future hang in the balance, because first he must be assured she is a virgin.
Again, Roberta Rich will lead you on a suspenseful journey while illuminating the history of the Ottoman Empire so much of which will surround and intrigue you when you visit present-day Istanbul."
