“[This] magical, engrossing…novel of intrigue and forbidden love manages to be both cerebral and entertaining. With all the intri... read full description
reviews
Aug 15, 2010
Adrienne
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Oh I couldn't give this book anything other than a 5 star rating, it has everything I enjoy in a great read. An historical 'romance' I've put the romance in inverted commas because it's not a typical romance with a HEA but rather a romance in the victorian sense of the word. Beautifully writen it captured my imagination right from the start. I love this time period 16th Century but not from an Elizabethan angle infact I find that period of 'English' history quite boring, no it's the Venetian
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(1 person liked it)
Sep 04, 2008
Carey
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Katie Hickman's "The Aviary Gate" is a story within a story. In present day Oxford Elizabeth Staveley, a graduate student, is looking through the Bodleian Library archives in search of material for her thesis on captivity narratives. She finds a fragment of a manuscript which describes a shipwreck and the unfortunate aftermath when the ship is boarded by Turkish pirates. The captain of the ship is murdered and several of the women are taken captive by the pirates, among them the captai
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(3 people liked it)
Mar 12, 2009
Stephanie
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Near the end of this novel, an Istanbul archivist, who is helping an English academic with her research, muses: "What is this western obsession with harems?"
Well, the popularity of novels about harems can probably be attributed to the bits which describe the, well, performance of a harem lady's raison d'etre. If that is what you are looking for, this novel certainly has a few paragraphs here and there which will please you.
But the author is best known for her no More...
Well, the popularity of novels about harems can probably be attributed to the bits which describe the, well, performance of a harem lady's raison d'etre. If that is what you are looking for, this novel certainly has a few paragraphs here and there which will please you.
But the author is best known for her no More...
Jan 12, 2012
Meenoo
rated it: 
I am finding it hard to write this review. On the one hand, this book uses a lot of Orientalism cliches, as many of the other reviewers have already mentioned. Scheming concubines, erotic arts, dealings in sorcery, etc. The present day narrative was also just meh, although it did feature descriptions of Istanbul that renewed my fascination with visiting the city. The books also had nicely drawn characters (Jamal for example) that didn't really go anywhere. I also wish she had spent more time tal
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Aug 28, 2011
Tocotin
rated it:
I love books about life in confinement - prison, monastery, brothel, harem, boarding school, you name it - and I have a soft spot for Turkey as well, so I expected to really like this one. Well, it was just okay.
It does have some good elements. There are interesting details about Ottoman palace life. The mystery of the attempt at assassination of the Chief Black Eunuch, and the struggle for power between Safiye Sultan, the mother of Mehmed III, and his favorite concubine Gulay Haseki More...
It does have some good elements. There are interesting details about Ottoman palace life. The mystery of the attempt at assassination of the Chief Black Eunuch, and the struggle for power between Safiye Sultan, the mother of Mehmed III, and his favorite concubine Gulay Haseki More...
Nov 08, 2010
Jean Marie
rated it:
This is another one of those "bouncing narratives" and in this case the narration goes from modern day Elizabeth, a scholar with the most unfortunate love life and renaissance era Celia, an English woman who was sold into slavery after her father's ship sunk. Elizabeth's story is that she comes across some paperwork linking to Celia, and thus the search to what happened to this woman begins. Celia's story is the meat of this book (so much so that I feel that Elizabeth's story should ha
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Jul 23, 2011
Zoella
rated it: 
Wow! The start is incredibly uncomfortable to read - cue crossing legs and squirming. But once you get passed the mutilation and hardship the characters are instantly likable, even the cruel and rebellious ones. It's obvious how much research Hickman put into the novel (especially with the map and glossary), and one can not fail to appreciate this. On the other hand some writers get bogged down in their research and this can threaten to overshadow the plot and characters, but Hickman narrowly a
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Aug 27, 2011
Ape
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This is the second book by Katie Hickman I've read, although it's the first work of fiction by her I've read. But still in the same territory, the sex trade in history. The first book I read was Courtesans - mini biographies of five courtesans - and now this one is set in the Sultan's harem in the 1500s in Turkey. One of the main characters is Celia, renamed Kaya for the harem, who is an Englishwoman. Shipwrecked in the Mediteranean and presumed dead, she was then put into the slave trade and ev
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Feb 05, 2012
♥ Cheshire Catt ♠
rated it:
I really liked this light harem HF. It was setup differently as we flipped from a researcher from the present time to 1599 but I didn't feel that that distracted from the story at all and I could relate with Elizabeth as she slowly uncovers the story of Celia, an English girl who was sold into a harem. The harem part of the story was also handled differently because when we join Celia she is already living inside it and has been there for almost a year. The novel is at once three mysteries -
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(4 people liked it)
Apr 25, 2010
Carole
rated it:
The story begins in the present time when student Elizabeth Staveley discovers a parchment in the Bodleian library that she's been looking for and which could hold the key to a mystery that's been hidden for 400 years.
In Constantinople in 1599 the Sultan's mother (the most powerful woman in the land) discovers the bodies of two people who have been poisoned in the Sultan's Palace. One is the chief of the eunuchs and the other is a young slave girl.
This is the start of an More...
In Constantinople in 1599 the Sultan's mother (the most powerful woman in the land) discovers the bodies of two people who have been poisoned in the Sultan's Palace. One is the chief of the eunuchs and the other is a young slave girl.
This is the start of an More...
Oct 26, 2011
DubaiReader
rated it:
Life in an Ottoman harem.
This received quite mixed reviews on Amazon UK, and I had reservations when I began reading. Fortunately I was pleasantly surprised and found it a very enjoyable read with plenty of historical interest and atmospheric descriptions.
There are two time frames used in the novel; the current day story of historical researcher, Elizabeth Staveley, is used as a tool to provide the background to the more interesting historical section. Elizabeth finds a fragm More...
This received quite mixed reviews on Amazon UK, and I had reservations when I began reading. Fortunately I was pleasantly surprised and found it a very enjoyable read with plenty of historical interest and atmospheric descriptions.
There are two time frames used in the novel; the current day story of historical researcher, Elizabeth Staveley, is used as a tool to provide the background to the more interesting historical section. Elizabeth finds a fragm More...
Feb 17, 2010
Alana
rated it: 
The Aviary Gate by Kate Hickman is a lush narrative that reaches back into the sultan's harem of Constantinople, 1599, to relate a bittersweet story of loyalty, love, and loss. Elizabeth is a modern day grad student at Oxford, entangled with a rake and researching captivity narratives for a bid at an MPhil. She stumbles upon some clues that suggest an Englishwoman named Celia Lamprey survived a shipwreck in the late 1500s only to be sold as a slave into the Ottoman sultan's harem. Elizabeth's
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(3 people liked it)
Nov 24, 2011
Donna
rated it:
This book has the story line of my favorite kinds of books, set in a different time and place, with some history mixed in, and with well rounded characters. At the beginning of this book, I couldn't put it down, the story brought me in and I was quite excited to learn more about the lead, Celia, and her fate. But from the middle of the book to the end, I lost enthusiasm for the story and found myself bored. Near the end, I pushed myself through to the finish... The ending was exactly what I exp
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Jul 21, 2009
Jean
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Well...it was a good premise and it had potential...afterall, who wouldn't want to know more about the harems and sex with the potentate???? It took forever and it was hardly worth it!!! Thee was a list of characters; the first clue that since this was not a Russian novel that it was going to be unnecessarily complicated and it was. It could have been a whole lot more interesting and fast moving had the author run with the topic instead of trying to be clever and jumped all over the place. Aga
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Apr 28, 2009
Limecat
rated it:
Oh well, the cover was nice anyway.
Incredibly wimpish historian finds some artifact or other shoved down the back of a book somewhere (amazing that no one else had found it in 300 years as it didn't seem to be particularly well hidden but never mind). This artifact/letter whatever it is sheds light on the fate of a woman captured and sent to a harem in the early 17th century. Wimpish historian goes on hunt to Turkey to find out more, and the book travels back and forth between her More...
Incredibly wimpish historian finds some artifact or other shoved down the back of a book somewhere (amazing that no one else had found it in 300 years as it didn't seem to be particularly well hidden but never mind). This artifact/letter whatever it is sheds light on the fate of a woman captured and sent to a harem in the early 17th century. Wimpish historian goes on hunt to Turkey to find out more, and the book travels back and forth between her More...
Apr 07, 2009
Jonathan
rated it:
A good idea buried under screeds of exposition. It purports to be an exciting historical mystery, told in the currently faddish mode with a modern learned heroine and an ancient heroine who does exciting stuff. In fact the modern girl is the most drippy dippy girl in all the world with some kind of affection deficit disorder, having affairs with any man who looks at her. The ancient girl is a bit better, but in a rather authorly-calculated manner, never actually does her hareemly duties, but is
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Jul 31, 2011
Carol
rated it:
This is a good one and it's jam packed with details about life in a harem 1600s. This author has researched extensively. How many hours did she spend getting the details to bring this tale to life? Am not too far along yet, page 82. I will read more tonight before bed:)
Finished July 31.... story just haunting me and had to keep reading till I found out what happened to Celia Lamprey! Won't give away the ending as that would not be fair;) It had some twists at the ending that I didn More...
Finished July 31.... story just haunting me and had to keep reading till I found out what happened to Celia Lamprey! Won't give away the ending as that would not be fair;) It had some twists at the ending that I didn More...
Oct 01, 2011
Claire
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
May 12, 2009
Peter
rated it:
An intriguing look at Ottoman Turkey and the world of the Harem. The story of an english woman captured and made a slave to the sultan and a modern day Historian who attempts to tell her story. For the most part a nicely told story with a slant view of the lives of women in the Sultan's court. A truly delicious and accurate feel for Istanbul and the various rifts that marked one of the great empires. The elaboration of the story of the concubines gives a decent hue to the question of the uninten
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Oct 30, 2010
Bonnie
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Feb 09, 2009
Betty
rated it:
Mystery, History, and Love Story during the Ottoman Empire
Haunting & refreshingly different, the story begins when a small scrap of old manuscript, dating to 1599, is accidentally discovered among the texts of Elizabeth’s studies. Elizabeth feels she must learn the fate of Celia, the betrothed daughter of the ship’s captain after his ship has floundered & Celia has been captured & brought to the Sultan’s harem. So begins our student’s research, delving into the realm of the Sultans and Har More...
Haunting & refreshingly different, the story begins when a small scrap of old manuscript, dating to 1599, is accidentally discovered among the texts of Elizabeth’s studies. Elizabeth feels she must learn the fate of Celia, the betrothed daughter of the ship’s captain after his ship has floundered & Celia has been captured & brought to the Sultan’s harem. So begins our student’s research, delving into the realm of the Sultans and Har More...
Sep 20, 2008
Juushika
rated it:
In the modern day England, Elizabeth has just uncovered an ancient document which tells the story of Celia, an English woman held captive in the Sultan's harem. In 1599 Constantinople, Celia is pulled into the scheming and intrigue of the Sultan's harem, where the Sultan's mother vies for power against the Sultan's favorite concubine. Their stories run in parallel as Elizabeth uncovers Celia's story and Celia uncovers the palace plot—but all of the intrigue amounts to little. Elizabeth and Celia
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Jun 08, 2010
Joy
rated it:
I so very much did not want to like this book. From the reclining odalisque with the come-hither stare on the cover, to the jacket flap description of "a rare glimpse into the forbidden confines of the Sultan's harem," the whole package just screamed "bodice-ripper" and "not my kind of story."
But guess what. You know that old adage about not judging a book by its cover? Well, it's been proven true once again. Even though, the whole time I was reading The More...
But guess what. You know that old adage about not judging a book by its cover? Well, it's been proven true once again. Even though, the whole time I was reading The More...
Aug 26, 2009
K
rated it:
sigh. i really wanted to like this book of two parallel love affairs - one from the 16th century and the other present day. it had all the right elements...meticulously researched, nicely written, desperate lovers, and a harem? wow...now maybe i could learn something! but it just didn't click for me. i never connected with celia, the young englishwoman sold into slavery after surviving a shipwreck, and paul, her merchantman betrothed, even less. never felt the love, esp. since they do not
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Jun 18, 2008
Debbie
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"The Aviary Gate" takes the reader into the inner workings and machinations of a Turkish harem. I ought to write, "an Elizabethan Turkish harem", but unfortunately that's one of the major problems with this book--it has no redolences of the period in which most of it is purportedly set. It feels modern. It doesn't feel like it belongs to the age of the merchant princes.
Part of the problem may be that you don't expect to find mobile phones or DVD players in a ha More...
Part of the problem may be that you don't expect to find mobile phones or DVD players in a ha More...
Jan 22, 2011
Naomi
rated it:
Celia is captured after her father’s ship sinks and is sold as a slave to the Sultan in 1599. Paul Pindar is an English merchant who is to deliver the most extraordinary gift to the Sultan. He believed Celia to have died in the shipwreck.
This book looks at Celia’s life as a slave and also at Paul’s life when he believes she is a slave in the castle but he is unable to get to her.
In the modern day Elizabeth is trying to piece together the mystery surrounding Celia’s story.
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This book looks at Celia’s life as a slave and also at Paul’s life when he believes she is a slave in the castle but he is unable to get to her.
In the modern day Elizabeth is trying to piece together the mystery surrounding Celia’s story.
More...
Aug 02, 2008
Brooke
rated it:
I enjoyed this book, but definitely wouldn't consider it a favorite. In the beginning, I had a really hard time jumping back and forth through the different time periods, but that got easier as the book progressed. I really liked Celia, but I didn't really "believe" her character was alive in the time a place she was supposed to be. She seemed to modern and not emotional enough to be going through what was supposedly happening to her.
I felt like it was well researched More...
I felt like it was well researched More...
Oct 04, 2011
Cyn
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This was definitely a departure from what I normally read but I totally enjoyed it. It's a historical romance but if you're looking to read something with a typical romance ending, this may not be in your wheelhouse as it has a whiff of tragedy. That said, it was entirely enjoyable, particularly because I absolutely love Turkey, where the novel is set and I was able to picture things quite vividly as I read.
Feb 15, 2011
Rhonda
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Apr 03, 2011
Amanda
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I really enjoyed this book. The way the author switches from her modern day heroine to her 16th century heroine is actually quite seamless. It's an historical mystery of an English woman's presence and possible escape from a Sultan's harem in 16th century Constantinople. Nicely written without being overly descriptive and definitely keeps the the intrigue alive til the end.
