Sixteenth century Istanbul: a stowaway arrives in the city bearing an extraordinary gift for the Sultan. The boy is utterly alone in a foreign land, with no worldly possessions to his name except Chota, a rare white elephant destined for the palace menagerie.

A sweeping, magical novel from Elif Shafak set in 16th-century Istanbul, bursting with colour, romance and white elephants When Jahan travels to 16th-century Istanbul as a stowaway carrying the gift of a white elephant for the sultan, little does he know the journey on which he is about to embark. As he settles into life in Istanbul, Jahan's fortunes are shaped by chance encounters. In the palace gardens he meets Mihrimah, the beautiful and mischievous princess, and loses his heart in an instant. Later he catches the eye of Grand Architect Sinan, who chooses Jahan as his apprentice and changes the young boy's destiny forever. Full of magic, colour and societal upheaval in the architectural renaissance of Turkey, this is the sweeping tale of plagues, wars, forbidden romance and the simple love between a boy and his elephant.

Details

ISBN13: 9780241970942
Format: Paperback / softback
Number of Pages: 464
Edition:
Publication Date: 24 Jun 2015
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Publication City, Country: London, United Kingdom
Dimensions (cm): 19.7(H)x12.9(L)x3.1(W)328
Weight (gm): 328

Author Biography

Elif Shafak is an award-winning British Turkish novelist, whose work has been translated into fifty-eight languages. The author of twenty books, thirteen of which are novels, she is a bestselling author in many countries around the world. Shafak's novel 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the RSL Ondaatje Prize. The Island of Missing Trees was a Sunday Times bestseller, and was shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award and the Women's Prize for Fiction. There are Rivers in the Sky, which won an Edward Stanford Award for Fiction, is her latest novel. Shafak holds a PhD in political science, and is a Fellow and a Vice President of the Royal Society of Literature. She has been awarded the medal of Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and, in 2024, was awarded the British Academy President's Medal for 'her excellent body of work which demonstrates an incredible intercultural range'.

Reviews

'A gorgeous picture of a city teeming with secrets, intrigue and romance' * The Times *
'Shafak's most ambitious novel yet her best - generous and imaginative' * Independent *
'Exuberant, epic and comic, fantastical and realistic . . . like all good stories it conveys deeper meanings about human experience' * Financial Times *
'Fascinating. A vigorous evocation of the Ottoman Empire at the height of its power' * Sunday Times *
'Intricate, multi-layered, resplendent, vividly evoked, beautifully written' * Observer *
'Sumptuous, absorbing, moving' * Independent on Sunday *