Sofia [Hardcover]

Ann Chamberlin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1996

Kidnapped by corsairs and sold into captivity in the Ottoman Empire, Sofia vows to rise above the sexual slavery of the sultan's harem, while a fellow slave, Giorgio Veniero, an Italian sailor, pays a terrible price for falling in love with Esmikhan, the sultan's daughter.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

When Giorgio Veniero first sees Sofia Baffo in the Venetian convent garden, he is struck by the power of her beauty and the sheer force of her personality. In spite of her youth, the governor of Corfu's daughter is determined to make an advantageous match. Failing to achieve this aim in Venice, she is sent home under Veniero's supervision. During the trip, their ship is captured by Turkish pirates, and they are both sold into slavery. Undaunted, Sofia begins her climb to power in the Sultan's harem. Chamberlain (Tamar, Forge, 1994) has written a fascinating tale that would have been a good deal better had it been longer and had the author lavished the same detail on her characters that she did on the setting. For large historical fiction collections.?Cynthia Johnson, Cary Memorial Lib., Lexington, Mass.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

This elaborately detailed melodrama is set in the mysterious and enthralling world of the Ottoman Empire during the sixteenth century. When their ship is seized by Turkish pirates, a beautiful Venetian noblewoman and a virile young Italian sailor are kidnapped and sold into slavery. Ravishing and willful, Sofia Baffo is immediately procured for the royal seraglio. Fascinated by harem life and specially favored by the mother of the sultan, Sofia begins to exercise and relish an inordinate and exhilarating amount of power. Unfortunately, Giorgio Veniero does not experience such a pleasant fate. Brutally castrated and marketed as a eunuch, Giorgio struggles to rediscover and redefine his manhood. A vivid and lush brand of historical fiction. Margaret Flanagan

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 364 pages
• Publisher: Forge; 1st edition (April 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312861109
• ISBN-13: 978-0312861100
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,353,636 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely fantastic!, December 19, 2001

By 

Ayca APAK TONGE - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sofia (Paperback)

It is amazing to see how a writer from so far away and a totally different culture was able to grasp the beauty and richness of genuine Turkish palace culture. As a ganddaugher of a palace lady, I am proud to recommend this fantastic historical novel to the rest of the world.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Light Read, July 22, 2001

By 

Nevin B. (MA, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sofia (Paperback)

This book is not for those who want to know about the History of the Ottomans during the 16th century. It does not really give insight to the "Harem World" and sadly disappointing in terms of the historical accuracy. But a fun book for those on holiday. The ending left me with a feeling of not wanting to buy the second book. ("sultan's daughter")

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truth, April 10, 2001

By 

Cem Ozgen (Ankara, Turkiye) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sofia (Paperback)

I am a Turkish man living in Ankarai Turkiye. Sofia (Safiye) is a fascinating novel about our darkside history. Everybody in Turkiye knows that Harem had a fatal effect on Ottoman Empire and also everyone in Turkiye knows the beginning of the collapse of Ottoman Empire was the rise of Harem. When the Turkish Sultans had been married with one Turkish Girl the empire was rising, after the tradition had changed and Harem had been involved in Turkish life style (15th century) the collapse had begun. Those are the historical realities but to form a realistic also fictional novel by the inspiration of those realities really needs talent. This book and the other books of the serial really deserves the best comments. The best thing to be told about those 3 books is that: they are the integration of knowledge, talent, sense of history and imaginative power.