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A Distant Shore
In a glittering pleasure palace where lust was king, her beauty was her peril – and her power.
A violent road of piracy on the high seas and barbaric bartering in female flesh in North Africa led Aimée Dubucq de Rivery from a sheltered convent in France to the Great Sultan’s Seraglio in Constantinople.
In this man-made, woman-filled prison of pleasure, this beautiful, untouched young girl’s whole life was to be given over to the art of love. She would be the latest sexual plaything of a jaded ruler searching for new diversions. She would be the target of the deadly intrigues of her rivals for his bed and his ear. And she would become the last hope of a vast empire sinking into a swamp of unspeakable corruption.
This is the blazing, enthrallingly romantic saga of a woman who changed history with her yielding body and her iron will on A Distant Shore.
A violent road of piracy on the high seas and barbaric bartering in female flesh in North Africa led Aimée Dubucq de Rivery from a sheltered convent in France to the Great Sultan’s Seraglio in Constantinople.
In this man-made, woman-filled prison of pleasure, this beautiful, untouched young girl’s whole life was to be given over to the art of love. She would be the latest sexual plaything of a jaded ruler searching for new diversions. She would be the target of the deadly intrigues of her rivals for his bed and his ear. And she would become the last hope of a vast empire sinking into a swamp of unspeakable corruption.
This is the blazing, enthrallingly romantic saga of a woman who changed history with her yielding body and her iron will on A Distant Shore.
416 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 5, 1982
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 7, 2024
Holy harem rollercoaster, Batman. 😈
Based upon the legend of Aimee du Buc de Rivery, the overall effect of this book is a strange blend of historical fic & fairy tale. Aimee's disappearance is confirmed, though nobody can accurately pin the remainder of her life. But considering the clouded nature of harem identity & historical guesswork, I have no qualms embracing the author's take on what Aimee's life could have been.
We open with 21-year-old Aimee departing the French convent with Philomena, her lifelong slave/companion. After their ship sinks in a storm, its doomed passengers are rescued by a Spanish vessel…which is then attacked by pirates. Fortunately for Aimee, one of the pirates notices her pale-blonde beauty & makes a canny business decision by selling her to a minor aristocrat, also throwing Philomena into the deal. Aristocrat Dude then uses his shiny new purchases to curry favor with the local Sultan, & they’re both pushed through his harem gate, never to see the outside world again.
As Aimee adjusts—her chief coping mechanism being flashbacks to the convent or Martinique Island—she begins to make friends within the harem’s isolation: Eb, the chief Eunach (who has his own tragic story); Ali, her loyal but garbled interpreter; Mihrisah, the mother of the Sultan's heir; Selim, the heir himself. Through them she learns to be content, if not thrilled—but eventually she catches the old Sultan's eye & he takes her to bed, showering her with gifts & influence in exchange for rolling around in her beautiful blonde hair. Her favored place is cemented when she hands him a second son, but also creates new problems when she meets Alexander, a Janissary captain.
Oh noes. 🫠
The blurb implies this is romance, but I wouldn't totally agree; while it’s a true bodice ripper (rape, graphic violence, OTT scenes) there’s little romance in the modern sense. But the writing is divine, & I love the dream-like quality of the flashbacks featuring young Aimee & cousin Josephine’s life on Martinique. Her memories of the convent are equally fascinating, with things said & unsaid (the old nun's rant about cloistered life is awesome), & there's a strange erotic quality to her struggles with faith. It was all beautifully written, from the vivid scenery to the elegant & grotesque life within a gilded harem cage. Every character comes alive, from an abused servant boy to the Chief Eunach, from loyal Philomena to shrewish Jalima. History or fantasy? Who cares. It's good writing, & that’s what matters.
...But seriously, it’s not for sensitive readers. You’ll need a high tolerance for vintage rippers to enjoy this.
- squick list -
-voodoo
-poisons
-graphic pirate rapes/murders
-general bloodspray
-underage (vaguely) consensual sex
-ped0bear rape of both genders
-unapologetic slavery
-unapologetic incest
-murdered babies
-murder in general
-abuse of a nearly-dead slave girl
-suicide by knife
-beheading
-castration
Also, someone has their heart cut out. Which is then eaten by the murderer. Yummy. 😱
So, yeah…not for the squeamish. But I loved it. 😬 Even a dozen years after reading, I’ve yet to find another harem novel that reaches this level.
Based upon the legend of Aimee du Buc de Rivery, the overall effect of this book is a strange blend of historical fic & fairy tale. Aimee's disappearance is confirmed, though nobody can accurately pin the remainder of her life. But considering the clouded nature of harem identity & historical guesswork, I have no qualms embracing the author's take on what Aimee's life could have been.
We open with 21-year-old Aimee departing the French convent with Philomena, her lifelong slave/companion. After their ship sinks in a storm, its doomed passengers are rescued by a Spanish vessel…which is then attacked by pirates. Fortunately for Aimee, one of the pirates notices her pale-blonde beauty & makes a canny business decision by selling her to a minor aristocrat, also throwing Philomena into the deal. Aristocrat Dude then uses his shiny new purchases to curry favor with the local Sultan, & they’re both pushed through his harem gate, never to see the outside world again.
As Aimee adjusts—her chief coping mechanism being flashbacks to the convent or Martinique Island—she begins to make friends within the harem’s isolation: Eb, the chief Eunach (who has his own tragic story); Ali, her loyal but garbled interpreter; Mihrisah, the mother of the Sultan's heir; Selim, the heir himself. Through them she learns to be content, if not thrilled—but eventually she catches the old Sultan's eye & he takes her to bed, showering her with gifts & influence in exchange for rolling around in her beautiful blonde hair. Her favored place is cemented when she hands him a second son, but also creates new problems when she meets Alexander, a Janissary captain.
Oh noes. 🫠
The blurb implies this is romance, but I wouldn't totally agree; while it’s a true bodice ripper (rape, graphic violence, OTT scenes) there’s little romance in the modern sense. But the writing is divine, & I love the dream-like quality of the flashbacks featuring young Aimee & cousin Josephine’s life on Martinique. Her memories of the convent are equally fascinating, with things said & unsaid (the old nun's rant about cloistered life is awesome), & there's a strange erotic quality to her struggles with faith. It was all beautifully written, from the vivid scenery to the elegant & grotesque life within a gilded harem cage. Every character comes alive, from an abused servant boy to the Chief Eunach, from loyal Philomena to shrewish Jalima. History or fantasy? Who cares. It's good writing, & that’s what matters.
...But seriously, it’s not for sensitive readers. You’ll need a high tolerance for vintage rippers to enjoy this.
- squick list -
-voodoo
-poisons
-graphic pirate rapes/murders
-general bloodspray
-underage (vaguely) consensual sex
-ped0bear rape of both genders
-unapologetic slavery
-unapologetic incest
-murdered babies
-murder in general
-abuse of a nearly-dead slave girl
-suicide by knife
-beheading
-castration
Also, someone has their heart cut out. Which is then eaten by the murderer. Yummy. 😱
So, yeah…not for the squeamish. But I loved it. 😬 Even a dozen years after reading, I’ve yet to find another harem novel that reaches this level.
Displaying 1 of 1 review