The Bride of Suleiman

by Aileen Crawley

272 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1981

Reviews

[Naksed · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fictionalized rendering of the real life historical figure known as Roxelana, European wife of the Turkish Sultan Suleiman in the 16th century. It was well written and absorbing, showing plausibly how a lowly but spirited enslaved servant rose through the ranks of the harem to become the sultan's favorite and then his legal wife, something quite unprecedented historically. Too bad the ending was so abrupt, ending in their marriage. I wonder if there was a sequel to this book because Roxelana's life as the Haseki Sultan becomes much more interesting post marriage: she becomes the sultan's political adviser and a powerful leader in her own right, and she is to this day a controversial figure who is both admired and reviled. She remains, hundreds of years after her death, the subject of many artistic tributes, be they books, movies, plays, operas etc.