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Harem: The World Behind the Veil
A fascinating illustrated history of one of the strangest, and cruelest, cultural institutions ever devised. A worldwide best seller, translated into twenty-five languages.
“I was born in a konak (old house), which once was the harem of a pasha,” writes Alev Lytle Croutier. “People around me often whispered things about harems; my own grandmother and her sister had been brought up in one.”
Drawing on a host of firsthand accounts and memoirs, as well as her own family history, Croutier explores life in the world’s harems, from the Middle Ages to the early twentieth century, focusing on the fabled Seraglio of Topkapi Palace as a paradigm for them all. We enter the slave markets and the lavish boudoirs of the sultanas; we witness the daily routines of the odalisques, and of the eunuchs who guarded the harem. Here, too, we learn of the labyrinthine political scheming among the sultan’s wives, his favorites, and the valide sultana —the sultan’s mother—whose power could eclipse that of the sultan himself.
There were the harems of the sultans and the pashas, but there were also “middle-class” harems, the households in which ordinary men and women lived out ordinary—albeit polygamous—lives. Croutier reveals their marital customs, child-rearing practices, and superstitions. Finally, she shows how this Eastern institution invaded the European imagination—in the form of decoration, costume, and art—and how Western ideas, in turn, finally eroded a system that had seemed eternal. Juxtaposing a rich array of illustrations—Western paintings, Turkish and Persian miniatures, family photographs, and even film stills—Croutier demystifies the Western erotic fantasy of “the world behind the veil.” This revised and updated 25th anniversary edition of Harem includes a new introduction by the author, revisiting her subject in light of recent events in Turkey, and the world.
“I was born in a konak (old house), which once was the harem of a pasha,” writes Alev Lytle Croutier. “People around me often whispered things about harems; my own grandmother and her sister had been brought up in one.”
Drawing on a host of firsthand accounts and memoirs, as well as her own family history, Croutier explores life in the world’s harems, from the Middle Ages to the early twentieth century, focusing on the fabled Seraglio of Topkapi Palace as a paradigm for them all. We enter the slave markets and the lavish boudoirs of the sultanas; we witness the daily routines of the odalisques, and of the eunuchs who guarded the harem. Here, too, we learn of the labyrinthine political scheming among the sultan’s wives, his favorites, and the valide sultana —the sultan’s mother—whose power could eclipse that of the sultan himself.
There were the harems of the sultans and the pashas, but there were also “middle-class” harems, the households in which ordinary men and women lived out ordinary—albeit polygamous—lives. Croutier reveals their marital customs, child-rearing practices, and superstitions. Finally, she shows how this Eastern institution invaded the European imagination—in the form of decoration, costume, and art—and how Western ideas, in turn, finally eroded a system that had seemed eternal. Juxtaposing a rich array of illustrations—Western paintings, Turkish and Persian miniatures, family photographs, and even film stills—Croutier demystifies the Western erotic fantasy of “the world behind the veil.” This revised and updated 25th anniversary edition of Harem includes a new introduction by the author, revisiting her subject in light of recent events in Turkey, and the world.
258 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1989
167 people are currently reading
1332 people want to read
About the author
Alev Lytle Croutier
13 books30 followersAlev Croutier was born in Turkey. She has written and directed award-winning independent films and was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship (the first ever for a screenplay) for her work on Tell Me a Riddle. She is the author of the internationally acclaimed bestseller Harem: The World Behind the Veil. She divides her time between San Francisco and Paris.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews
December 10, 2021
At first this looks altruistic, as the author writes, but then 'surplus women'. Surplus to what? Or should I have said, surplus to whose requirements? A man is allowed four wives if he is able to keep them all in the same style and can share with them equal amounts of affection and wealth. The Prophet Mohammed had altruistic intentions when he sanctioned polygamy, seeing it as a solution to the pre-Islamic practice of female infanticide, as well as a practical way to deal with the surplus female population. It was mainly an economic measure, having little to do with Western romantic and erotic stereotypes.
Who is setting a quota on how many girl babies should live and why could not Muhammed just have forbidden infanticide, why did he need to make plural marriage as a solution? Was there such a deeply ingrained culture of killing girls that it would have been insoluble that way? Wasn't polygamy also practiced and this was legitimising it? Polygamy seems to have been practiced by just about every male-dominated society in existence at one time, or at least (as here and in France) having a permanent mistress, 'side-woman' who the man has children with. I didn't even know that female infanticide was practiced in the Arabian countries and would like to know more about pre-Muhammedan Arab culture.
Was there ever a surplus of girls? Fundamentalist Mormons who practice polygamy think in the same way too, it's in part so every girl can get a good husband. But in order to maintain a surplus of women they have to expel large numbers of boys from the religion, as in no part of the world has the imbalance of four women (or more) to every man ever existed, without the murder of girl babies.
I was reading on a book on China, I think I wrote a review, but I can't remember the book title now, of how during the one baby rule (which was widely ignored in the country, if not the urban areas), if the first child was a girl, she would be killed at birth, strangled or suffocated. But in order to punish the mother, if she had a second, then third girl, the baby would be plunged head first in boiling water to kill her. By a midwife, by another woman. What kind of Stockholm syndrome leads women to do this at the behest of Mao or some other man, to little girl babies? It was a terrible law and worded in such a fake way as to encourage the murder of little girls. The true wording should have been, 'One living baby' allowed. No one was ever prosecuted for killing girl babies.
What kind of society wants to tell women that they are precious jewels and that others viewing them will lessen their preciousness and so they must be shrouded from view, preferably locked up at home or, for the wealthy, in a harem, which is a prison no matter how luxurious? And why do women so desire that life as detailed of the very poor women who live in a cemetery in Women of the City of the Dead (set in Egypt).
It is a mindset I can't get. I would be pleased to have it explained to me, but in the past when I asked I got trolled. I suppose people don't like having to explain matters of faith, because faith needs no logic or reason, it is just there to be accepted and acted upon or else face the punishment from God when you are dead, as well as anything your society might mete out in this one.
It's taken me over a year to get round to writing this review. I'm trying to clear up my back list of books needing a review! Dec. 2021
Who is setting a quota on how many girl babies should live and why could not Muhammed just have forbidden infanticide, why did he need to make plural marriage as a solution? Was there such a deeply ingrained culture of killing girls that it would have been insoluble that way? Wasn't polygamy also practiced and this was legitimising it? Polygamy seems to have been practiced by just about every male-dominated society in existence at one time, or at least (as here and in France) having a permanent mistress, 'side-woman' who the man has children with. I didn't even know that female infanticide was practiced in the Arabian countries and would like to know more about pre-Muhammedan Arab culture.
Was there ever a surplus of girls? Fundamentalist Mormons who practice polygamy think in the same way too, it's in part so every girl can get a good husband. But in order to maintain a surplus of women they have to expel large numbers of boys from the religion, as in no part of the world has the imbalance of four women (or more) to every man ever existed, without the murder of girl babies.
I was reading on a book on China, I think I wrote a review, but I can't remember the book title now, of how during the one baby rule (which was widely ignored in the country, if not the urban areas), if the first child was a girl, she would be killed at birth, strangled or suffocated. But in order to punish the mother, if she had a second, then third girl, the baby would be plunged head first in boiling water to kill her. By a midwife, by another woman. What kind of Stockholm syndrome leads women to do this at the behest of Mao or some other man, to little girl babies? It was a terrible law and worded in such a fake way as to encourage the murder of little girls. The true wording should have been, 'One living baby' allowed. No one was ever prosecuted for killing girl babies.
What kind of society wants to tell women that they are precious jewels and that others viewing them will lessen their preciousness and so they must be shrouded from view, preferably locked up at home or, for the wealthy, in a harem, which is a prison no matter how luxurious? And why do women so desire that life as detailed of the very poor women who live in a cemetery in Women of the City of the Dead (set in Egypt).
It is a mindset I can't get. I would be pleased to have it explained to me, but in the past when I asked I got trolled. I suppose people don't like having to explain matters of faith, because faith needs no logic or reason, it is just there to be accepted and acted upon or else face the punishment from God when you are dead, as well as anything your society might mete out in this one.
It's taken me over a year to get round to writing this review. I'm trying to clear up my back list of books needing a review! Dec. 2021
February 13, 2018
I've been meaning to read this book for quite some time now as the idea of the harem has always set my imagination on fire.
Harem: The World Behind the Veil sets out to tell us the truth about The Great Harem and harems in general from the time of the ottoman sultans to the present.
We are told that harem is not all about the sultan having orgies with the girls he owns. In fact, orgies are frowned upon in Islamic culture. The harem represent the actual quarters where the women live (wives, daughters, sisters, mothers, odalisques, female slaves), confined from all male eyes, except for those of blood relatives. They have to live like this because the woman is regarded as the temptress, set upon igniting lust in men. What makes me furious is that the women are secluded not for their own safety, but for that of the men of the world, so that they don't fall into temptation and damn their soul... >.< Yes... Because everything in this world revolves around them.
That aside, the book offers information about how harems worked, who inhabited it and the different ranks the women of the harem could attain. Every now and then, we are provided with examples of famous sultans and the women in their lives. This way we learn that Suleiman the Magnificent had one of his favourites executed because she sold her night with him to another woman.
Also, there are many beautiful illustrations. There are photos from the author's personal archive mixed with reproductions of famous paintings depicting harem life.
All in all, this is a lovely book offering a brief view into an exotic way of living.
*I thank Alev Lytle Croutier, Abbeville Press, and Netgalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review.
Harem: The World Behind the Veil sets out to tell us the truth about The Great Harem and harems in general from the time of the ottoman sultans to the present.
We are told that harem is not all about the sultan having orgies with the girls he owns. In fact, orgies are frowned upon in Islamic culture. The harem represent the actual quarters where the women live (wives, daughters, sisters, mothers, odalisques, female slaves), confined from all male eyes, except for those of blood relatives. They have to live like this because the woman is regarded as the temptress, set upon igniting lust in men. What makes me furious is that the women are secluded not for their own safety, but for that of the men of the world, so that they don't fall into temptation and damn their soul... >.< Yes... Because everything in this world revolves around them.
That aside, the book offers information about how harems worked, who inhabited it and the different ranks the women of the harem could attain. Every now and then, we are provided with examples of famous sultans and the women in their lives. This way we learn that Suleiman the Magnificent had one of his favourites executed because she sold her night with him to another woman.
Also, there are many beautiful illustrations. There are photos from the author's personal archive mixed with reproductions of famous paintings depicting harem life.
All in all, this is a lovely book offering a brief view into an exotic way of living.
*I thank Alev Lytle Croutier, Abbeville Press, and Netgalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review.
January 29, 2013
Harem: The World Behind the Veil by Alev Lytle Croutier is a gratifying find among the many historical books written about the harem life of the Ottoman Empire. A harem was not a hidden, decadent enclave of the Sultan’s stunning concubines. It was simply where the women lived in the palace. All of the women lived there, including the Sultan’s own mother, known as the “Valide Sultan.” She was the most powerful figure in the empire after the Sultan himself. Croutier doesn’t exclusively cover the Turkish harem, or Seraglio as it is known, and addresses the topic of the harem in general. However, since Croutier is Turkish and has a personal linkage to this past, naturally the majority of her book covers the Ottoman harem.
Reading this book is like watching a documentary. Decorated with lush photography and paintings, it animates the women who lived in this time and place. Croutier covers all elements of the harem life: the baths that were a quotidian ritual, the poetry of the women’s voices, an emotional life as multifaceted as the gems adorning them, the princesses, high-ranking concubines, and the eunuchs who surrounded them. There is also mention of the ordinary harem of domestic households. This rich history is laid out like a damask tapestry. The author’s first person narrative makes the prose all the more alluring.
The harem life was not easy. It was an imprisoned life, a segregated complex of buildings populated mostly by foreign slaves. A Muslim Turk could not be a consort to the Sultan as slavery was forbidden in Islam. Women were kidnapped or sold into the slave market just as cattle were. In some ways, the Turks are still ashamed of such a history, and it was abolished in the early twentieth century. Even Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the revolutionary leader and creator of the modern Turkish republic, had said: “Is it possible that, while one half of a community stays chained to the ground, the other half can rise to the skies?” Women could rarely leave the walls of the harem, but as oppressive as it could be, it was still a place of rich culture where a network of women turned to each other for comfort and enjoyed as much of its splendor as they could.
Researched extensively, Harem offers a rare glimpse into the fascinating yet misunderstood heritage of women in the Ottoman Empire.
Reading this book is like watching a documentary. Decorated with lush photography and paintings, it animates the women who lived in this time and place. Croutier covers all elements of the harem life: the baths that were a quotidian ritual, the poetry of the women’s voices, an emotional life as multifaceted as the gems adorning them, the princesses, high-ranking concubines, and the eunuchs who surrounded them. There is also mention of the ordinary harem of domestic households. This rich history is laid out like a damask tapestry. The author’s first person narrative makes the prose all the more alluring.
The harem life was not easy. It was an imprisoned life, a segregated complex of buildings populated mostly by foreign slaves. A Muslim Turk could not be a consort to the Sultan as slavery was forbidden in Islam. Women were kidnapped or sold into the slave market just as cattle were. In some ways, the Turks are still ashamed of such a history, and it was abolished in the early twentieth century. Even Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the revolutionary leader and creator of the modern Turkish republic, had said: “Is it possible that, while one half of a community stays chained to the ground, the other half can rise to the skies?” Women could rarely leave the walls of the harem, but as oppressive as it could be, it was still a place of rich culture where a network of women turned to each other for comfort and enjoyed as much of its splendor as they could.
Researched extensively, Harem offers a rare glimpse into the fascinating yet misunderstood heritage of women in the Ottoman Empire.
March 26, 2015
Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley.
If you go to most art museums in the Western world, you can find at least one, if not more, paintings that depict a European man’s view of the Eastern harem. While beautiful, these paintings will depict various women in various states of undress, usually lying around doing nothing besides looking pretty. Sometimes, there might be a painting that depicts a man alongside them, usually suggestive of post-coital glow or tied to 1001 Arabian Nights.
And that’s not even touching the movies.
Alev Lytle Croutier’s book about harems is far more interesting than those man fancy pieces. In part, this is because the author is able to draw on her family’s interactions with various people who were connected to harems. Croutier goes into, briefly, the beginnings of the harem tradition, and divide her book up into royal harem life, ordinary harem life, as well as looking at how art and film, in particular in the West, viewed the harem. Perhaps the books major flaw is the focus on Turkish harem, but considering the writer’s background this is not surprising.
The personal stories, for instance her meeting a eunuch, add a layer to the book as well as serving as a reminder that this lifestyle is not far removed from the present day. This is balanced though the use of historical harem women and the battles they fought, whether between themselves or with the men who control them.
It isn’t only the dispelling of myths that surround harem women that Croutier attends to; she also dispels myths about the eunuchs. Of particular interest is the division of eunuch jobs based on skin color (and I wish there had been some analysis of why there was such a division) but also what a eunuch’s life could be like. It is here that Croutier does bring in Chinese harem life in addition to Turkish.
There is also a wonderful bit about Lady Mary Montagu.
This is a wonderful history read.
If you go to most art museums in the Western world, you can find at least one, if not more, paintings that depict a European man’s view of the Eastern harem. While beautiful, these paintings will depict various women in various states of undress, usually lying around doing nothing besides looking pretty. Sometimes, there might be a painting that depicts a man alongside them, usually suggestive of post-coital glow or tied to 1001 Arabian Nights.
And that’s not even touching the movies.
Alev Lytle Croutier’s book about harems is far more interesting than those man fancy pieces. In part, this is because the author is able to draw on her family’s interactions with various people who were connected to harems. Croutier goes into, briefly, the beginnings of the harem tradition, and divide her book up into royal harem life, ordinary harem life, as well as looking at how art and film, in particular in the West, viewed the harem. Perhaps the books major flaw is the focus on Turkish harem, but considering the writer’s background this is not surprising.
The personal stories, for instance her meeting a eunuch, add a layer to the book as well as serving as a reminder that this lifestyle is not far removed from the present day. This is balanced though the use of historical harem women and the battles they fought, whether between themselves or with the men who control them.
It isn’t only the dispelling of myths that surround harem women that Croutier attends to; she also dispels myths about the eunuchs. Of particular interest is the division of eunuch jobs based on skin color (and I wish there had been some analysis of why there was such a division) but also what a eunuch’s life could be like. It is here that Croutier does bring in Chinese harem life in addition to Turkish.
There is also a wonderful bit about Lady Mary Montagu.
This is a wonderful history read.
January 27, 2012
تحديث: إضافة رابط المقال
--
تنقل أليف كروتييه في كتابها (عالم الحريم) القارئ إلى عوالم الحريم على زمن السلاطين العثمانيين السري و المحجوب عن الأعين بطريقة غرائبية تحبس الأنفاس...0
أستطيع أن أقول أن المؤلفة ذكية للغاية فهي تحسن قراءة العقلية الغربية و تعرف ما يسحرها و لذلك جاء كتابها كمقطوعة تأسر الأذن الغربية بحيث لا يمكنه مقاومتها...0
فكتابها يكرس صورة الشرق و الحجاب النمطية و التي تمتع الغربي و تجذب فضوله... كمهرج مبهرج يهرج ليجذب الجماهير..0
تماما كإعلانات وزارات السياحة: مغرية و ليست واقعية و لكنها تعيد إنتاج الواقع بحرفية و توظفه بذكاء...0
و هنا مقال مطول عن الكتاب
عالم الحريم خلف الحجاب
--
تنقل أليف كروتييه في كتابها (عالم الحريم) القارئ إلى عوالم الحريم على زمن السلاطين العثمانيين السري و المحجوب عن الأعين بطريقة غرائبية تحبس الأنفاس...0
أستطيع أن أقول أن المؤلفة ذكية للغاية فهي تحسن قراءة العقلية الغربية و تعرف ما يسحرها و لذلك جاء كتابها كمقطوعة تأسر الأذن الغربية بحيث لا يمكنه مقاومتها...0
فكتابها يكرس صورة الشرق و الحجاب النمطية و التي تمتع الغربي و تجذب فضوله... كمهرج مبهرج يهرج ليجذب الجماهير..0
تماما كإعلانات وزارات السياحة: مغرية و ليست واقعية و لكنها تعيد إنتاج الواقع بحرفية و توظفه بذكاء...0
و هنا مقال مطول عن الكتاب
عالم الحريم خلف الحجاب
September 8, 2012
I wish I could have enjoyed this book, as the subject matter is clearly interesting, but instead I was completely disappointed. It is appalling that any literate person could misquote the Holy Quran as many times as did this author. Personal thoughts on religion aside, there is no excuse for creating words and claiming them to be from Quranic text. This left me doubting any historical references offered in the book, and so I consider it a work of fiction. For this author to be one of the most translated Turkish authors begs many questions. I wouldn't recommend it under any circumstance.
May 25, 2021
This is a really good reference on harems in general and more specifically the harem of the Grand Seraglio/Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. I have read several books and articles on harems and captivity in the early modern Mediterranean and all that I read in Croutier's book did align with other resources. Croutier's view is from a first-person perspective, as a descendent of women involved with the harem in Istanbul. Their exact relationship with the harem did not seem to be completely clear. Croutier goes into detail to describe the women and men that were a part of the Grand Seraglio, what their positions were, details about their work and life, as well as describing the Sultans and Sultanas, the physical structure of the Topkapi Palace, and the decline of the practice of harems. It is a very interesting and eye-opening book that takes away the mysterious, secretive life of the women of harems. It is full of pictures and artwork that Croutier uses as part of her resources...but there is the downside of the book...resources.
It is fair to say that Croutier uses a large amount of primary and secondary sources for her book, the problem is, you don't know what they are. No footnotes, endnotes, etc. There is a bibliography but there are no specific citations that coincide with the narrative. Croutier does mention some sources within her narrative, but I don't know what comes from her first-hand knowledge passed through her ancestors and what is gleaned from other sources.
All in all, I think it is a very good resource if you want to know more about harems, you just have to dig through her bibliography if you want to dive deeper into the subject.
It is fair to say that Croutier uses a large amount of primary and secondary sources for her book, the problem is, you don't know what they are. No footnotes, endnotes, etc. There is a bibliography but there are no specific citations that coincide with the narrative. Croutier does mention some sources within her narrative, but I don't know what comes from her first-hand knowledge passed through her ancestors and what is gleaned from other sources.
All in all, I think it is a very good resource if you want to know more about harems, you just have to dig through her bibliography if you want to dive deeper into the subject.
April 4, 2017
تعرفنا اليف كرواتييه في هذا الكتاب ، على الحياة في الدولة العثمانية ، فهي تكشف لنا اعتمادا على روايات وتواريخ ومذكرات كلها مأخوذة من مصادرها الاصلية باللغة التركية والانكليزية والفرنسية والايطالية ، الحياة في عالم الحرملك من العصور الوسطى حتى القرن العشرين ، مع التركيز على سراي قصر طوبقاي الخرافي الملغز في اسطنبول مثالا على كل اشكال الحرملك .
فهناك تدخل الى مخادع زوجات السلاطين واسواق العبيد التي كان السلاطين والباشوات يختارون منها الجواري والخصيان .
ونشهد رتابة الحياة اليومية للجواري بحماماتهن المشتركة الصاخبة ومشاويرهن الى السوق والبازار ، والعابهن وملابسهن واستعمالهن للافيون ، واغانيهن ومواعيدهن وتطلعاتهن وعبوديتهن المقيته .
فهناك تدخل الى مخادع زوجات السلاطين واسواق العبيد التي كان السلاطين والباشوات يختارون منها الجواري والخصيان .
ونشهد رتابة الحياة اليومية للجواري بحماماتهن المشتركة الصاخبة ومشاويرهن الى السوق والبازار ، والعابهن وملابسهن واستعمالهن للافيون ، واغانيهن ومواعيدهن وتطلعاتهن وعبوديتهن المقيته .
October 17, 2015
Diaphanous veils, steamy wading pools and chaise lounge all occupied by beautiful women just waiting to be called upon by their sultan. This is the image that most people conjure when the word “Harem” is uttered. This 25th Anniversary re-release of Ms. Croutier’s book quite honestly does not do much to dispel this fantasy.
Yes, Ms. Croutier describes some of the eroticism involved with living in a harem as well as the elaborate dress and grooming rituals ... the women always being "ready" for their "master". But she also gives the details about the different types of Harems, the term widely used for any group of women occupying the same home and bound in one way or another to the “master of the house”, some harems being only a separate space cordoned off by a simple curtain. Most of the book concerns itself with the day-to-day lives of its inhabitants; the caste system present within the harem, the children and of course, the essential eunuchs. Then Ms. Croutier moves on from titillating her readers with descriptions of the baths and women lovers to describe how, despite being quite literally locked behind closed doors, these women were able to wield considerable power over the Sultans and influence the politics of the time.
Ms. Croutier does explain in her forward that “Physical and spiritual isolation of women and polygamy were not unique to Turkey. Harems existed throughout history in different parts of the Asian world … cloistered women protected and guarded by eunuchs”. Her book focuses on one Imperial harem (Seraglio) because it has history for her family. It is very difficult to obtain factual information about harems because they were so cloistered but Ms. Croutier’s grandmother lived in a harem until 1909, at which time they were abolished, giving her some letters, photographs and other information to use as a starting point for her research. Some of her personal photos are included in this book as well as paintings and sketches depicting “typical” conceptions of life in a harem.
“Harem” always invokes some sense of mystery so when I saw this book offered I thought I would like to know a little more “behind the curtain” information about harems. This was an interesting book although personally I could have done with a little less information about the various castration procedures. I did notice that the parts of the book describing the people living in and around the harem were written with a sense of feeling and emotion, quite likely due to the author’s familial history while the sections about the politics read a little bit like a high school history report; dates, names and statistics. Overall, I would recommend it to anyone looking to learn a little bit more about the world of harems, but be warned, although the narrative sometimes speaks in generalities, this book does focus on one specific harem.
*I received this ebook at no charge from Abbeville Press
via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review *
Yes, Ms. Croutier describes some of the eroticism involved with living in a harem as well as the elaborate dress and grooming rituals ... the women always being "ready" for their "master". But she also gives the details about the different types of Harems, the term widely used for any group of women occupying the same home and bound in one way or another to the “master of the house”, some harems being only a separate space cordoned off by a simple curtain. Most of the book concerns itself with the day-to-day lives of its inhabitants; the caste system present within the harem, the children and of course, the essential eunuchs. Then Ms. Croutier moves on from titillating her readers with descriptions of the baths and women lovers to describe how, despite being quite literally locked behind closed doors, these women were able to wield considerable power over the Sultans and influence the politics of the time.
Ms. Croutier does explain in her forward that “Physical and spiritual isolation of women and polygamy were not unique to Turkey. Harems existed throughout history in different parts of the Asian world … cloistered women protected and guarded by eunuchs”. Her book focuses on one Imperial harem (Seraglio) because it has history for her family. It is very difficult to obtain factual information about harems because they were so cloistered but Ms. Croutier’s grandmother lived in a harem until 1909, at which time they were abolished, giving her some letters, photographs and other information to use as a starting point for her research. Some of her personal photos are included in this book as well as paintings and sketches depicting “typical” conceptions of life in a harem.
“Harem” always invokes some sense of mystery so when I saw this book offered I thought I would like to know a little more “behind the curtain” information about harems. This was an interesting book although personally I could have done with a little less information about the various castration procedures. I did notice that the parts of the book describing the people living in and around the harem were written with a sense of feeling and emotion, quite likely due to the author’s familial history while the sections about the politics read a little bit like a high school history report; dates, names and statistics. Overall, I would recommend it to anyone looking to learn a little bit more about the world of harems, but be warned, although the narrative sometimes speaks in generalities, this book does focus on one specific harem.
*I received this ebook at no charge from Abbeville Press
via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review *
April 13, 2011
For almost 400 years, until 1909, the Grand Harem in Istanbul’s Topkapi Palace was home to thousands of women who often had been bought at slave markets for a price lower than a good horse. In fact the horse probably had a better life than the harem dwellers.
Author Alev Lytle Croutier relates the day-to-day experiences of the women who inhabited these chambers: what they ate, the clothes they wore, the games they played together, the passions, the treachery, and the opium-induced reveries in which they passed long hours. One of her grandmothers had been brought up in a harem and Croutier’s interest stemmed from this; she then went on to research the world of the harem in more detail.
The book is lavishly illustrated with reproductions of photographs and artworks depicting the life that Croutier describes. The history is very superficial – really just an overview of what life may have been like generally for women who lived this way of life – but still informative. It left me wanting to know more. I had it as a bedside book and and was able to ‘dip’ in and out of it over quite a few months.
She does go into details about the different types of eunuchs and their operations – I defy any male to read this chapter and not squirm I did wonder though, despite her close links with Turkey, if she didn’t give a western look at harem life. The artwork she chose – although wonderful, were mostly by western artists who probably had never even set foot in a harem let alone faithfully reproduce one accurately.
Author Alev Lytle Croutier relates the day-to-day experiences of the women who inhabited these chambers: what they ate, the clothes they wore, the games they played together, the passions, the treachery, and the opium-induced reveries in which they passed long hours. One of her grandmothers had been brought up in a harem and Croutier’s interest stemmed from this; she then went on to research the world of the harem in more detail.
The book is lavishly illustrated with reproductions of photographs and artworks depicting the life that Croutier describes. The history is very superficial – really just an overview of what life may have been like generally for women who lived this way of life – but still informative. It left me wanting to know more. I had it as a bedside book and and was able to ‘dip’ in and out of it over quite a few months.
She does go into details about the different types of eunuchs and their operations – I defy any male to read this chapter and not squirm I did wonder though, despite her close links with Turkey, if she didn’t give a western look at harem life. The artwork she chose – although wonderful, were mostly by western artists who probably had never even set foot in a harem let alone faithfully reproduce one accurately.
January 29, 2016
I think everybody is a little bit fascinated by harems. Hollywood and the arts have made it so.
That's why I wanted to read Alev Lytle Croutier's HAREM: THE WORLD BEHIND THE VEIL. I wanted to know some truth about it and Croutier's work was advertised to tell me just that. Not being well-versed in Turkish history and Islam, the key points of the book, I have no choice but to take Croutier at her word until I find more information on the subject. And it is fairly easy to do since her own grandmother had been part of a harem and there is really no better first source than the oral traditions of generations.
That being said, HAREM is a fascinating look at the minutiae of life in Turkish harems between the 1500s and the 1900s, primarily the harems of the Sultans at Topkapi Palace and the Seraglio. Croutier seems as knowledgeable about the fabrics used to keep the harem women protected from the eyes of men to the methods by which their guards, servants, and staff became eunuchs. The research she does for the book shows on every page. I can't count the number of times I put the book down to go and tell someone a fact I learned that I should have known before or to Google some topic (the most interesting being the Skoptsy cult in Tsarist Russia) for more information. That, for me, is the sign of an excellent non-fiction book.
I want to read biographies of Roxalena, Nakshidil, Kosem, and all the other harem women Croutier sites as women who stepped out of the harem, at least figuratively, and asserted themselves to the point even of ruling Turkey with the sultans. I want to read more about the slave women, known as odalisques, who served in the harem and sometimes rose to great favor with sultans. This book, HAREM, has made me want more.
The only fault I find with the book is that Croutier sometimes spends paragraphs explaining what some artist did to portray the harem and then a different picture by a different artist is shown. It was a little confusing and vaguely disappointing, though I do realize it would be hard to get permission for the most famous things to be reprinted in the book. But really, I want a fully illustrated version of this book. What's there is fine, I'm greedy enough to want more.
(I received a copy of HAREM: THE WORLD BEHIND THE VEIL through NetGalley and Abbeville Press in exchange for an honest and original review.)
That's why I wanted to read Alev Lytle Croutier's HAREM: THE WORLD BEHIND THE VEIL. I wanted to know some truth about it and Croutier's work was advertised to tell me just that. Not being well-versed in Turkish history and Islam, the key points of the book, I have no choice but to take Croutier at her word until I find more information on the subject. And it is fairly easy to do since her own grandmother had been part of a harem and there is really no better first source than the oral traditions of generations.
That being said, HAREM is a fascinating look at the minutiae of life in Turkish harems between the 1500s and the 1900s, primarily the harems of the Sultans at Topkapi Palace and the Seraglio. Croutier seems as knowledgeable about the fabrics used to keep the harem women protected from the eyes of men to the methods by which their guards, servants, and staff became eunuchs. The research she does for the book shows on every page. I can't count the number of times I put the book down to go and tell someone a fact I learned that I should have known before or to Google some topic (the most interesting being the Skoptsy cult in Tsarist Russia) for more information. That, for me, is the sign of an excellent non-fiction book.
I want to read biographies of Roxalena, Nakshidil, Kosem, and all the other harem women Croutier sites as women who stepped out of the harem, at least figuratively, and asserted themselves to the point even of ruling Turkey with the sultans. I want to read more about the slave women, known as odalisques, who served in the harem and sometimes rose to great favor with sultans. This book, HAREM, has made me want more.
The only fault I find with the book is that Croutier sometimes spends paragraphs explaining what some artist did to portray the harem and then a different picture by a different artist is shown. It was a little confusing and vaguely disappointing, though I do realize it would be hard to get permission for the most famous things to be reprinted in the book. But really, I want a fully illustrated version of this book. What's there is fine, I'm greedy enough to want more.
(I received a copy of HAREM: THE WORLD BEHIND THE VEIL through NetGalley and Abbeville Press in exchange for an honest and original review.)
February 6, 2017
This book contains some good material on an interesting topic and has an intriguing structure, but it ultimately fails of its purpose in my opinion. The highlights are the low-key way that Croutier incorporates elements of her family history into the account, along with a well-curated selection of illustrations. However, these elements are not enough to rescue an otherwise lightweight treatment of the subject. Croutier purports in the introductions to provide a feminist demythologizing of the idea of the harem, but she in fact seems to fall victim to the allure of the myth. Most of this book reads like a breathless rehash of the more prurient aspects of the Western concept of the harem, and very little attention gets paid to the ways in which the segregation of women systemically degraded people and social structures. Further, the last chapter is a weird paean to the Earth Mother bonds of women in groups, and verges uncomfortably close to arguing for the harem as the natural social structure towards which all women in groups will gravitate. A really strange book that I was hoping would provide critical insight into an often-misunderstood non-Western tradition, but which left me feeling like the pernicious and titillating Orientalist myth claimed another mind.
November 11, 2017
Here, author Alev Lytle Croutier draws upon first hand accounts and her own family history to take us into the closed world of the harem.
It wasn't just Ottoman Sultans who had harems ... many middle class men also had them. This is not a Western European view of the harem, and the author dispels many of the myths built up around the secluded world. It is highly informative and highly recommended reading.
It wasn't just Ottoman Sultans who had harems ... many middle class men also had them. This is not a Western European view of the harem, and the author dispels many of the myths built up around the secluded world. It is highly informative and highly recommended reading.
December 18, 2011
The author grew up in Turkey; her grandmother had lived in a harem. The study of Turkish history is therefore informed by someone with personal knowledge of modern Turkish culture. The chapter on eunuchs gave me some new literary references. There's also an interesting chapter on how Westerners were fascinated by a romanticized ideal of the Turkish harem. The inclusion of many stunning photographs and paintings of women and eunuchs really makes the book.
May 6, 2018
Šachrazados pasakos bei nuo vyrų akių haremuose slepiamos paslaptingos moterys gal ir turi savo romantikos, bet mane tai ne itin domino. Man iki šiol buvo neaišku, kodėl haremus bei turkiškąją kultūrą, bent ja tarp mano pažįstamų, dažniau romantizuoja moterys. Kai kuriuos atsakymus visgi gavau, nors pati knyga nėra labai gili ir moksliška: ji gausiai iliustruota įvairiais paveikslais, o tekstų trumpumas leidžia ją perversti per vieną vakarą.
Iš pirmo žvilgsnio iš tiesų haremas turėtų kaitinti aistringas mintis: uždarytos nuo vyriškių akių, apsuptos eunuchų, sultono moterys tik ir laukia, kada jomis pasitenkins namų šeimininkas. Pridėkime dar tai, jog Turkija prieš keletą šimtmečių europiečiams buvo didelė egzotika: šilkai, prabangi sultono rūmų aplinka, gausūs papuošalai, pilvo šokiai, keisti papročiai, ir visa tai po vos vos perregima paslapties skraiste, kuri leidžia daugiau išgalvoti svajingų fantazijų nei atskleisti kasdienybės realybę. Sultono rūmuose vos ne idilė: moterys nieko neveikia, tik rūpinasi savo grožiu, nuogos maudosi baseinuose, retkarčiais mylisi su sultonu ir leidžia savo dienas dykinėdamos. Viskam patarnauja gražios odaliskės, kurios, nors ir būdamos vergės, pilnai gali tapti legaliomis sultono žmonomis.
Realybė daug proziškesnė. Haremas – tai rūmų dalis, kurioje gyvena ne tik žmonos, bet visos rūmų moterys. Dažniausiai viskam diriguoja šeimininko mama, o neretai tai reikli ir žiauri moteris, žinanti savo vertę. Visos žmonos turi savo aiškias pareigas ir privilegijas, sultonas (ar šiaip namų šeimininkas) jas lanko pagal griežtą grafiką. Visas gyvenimas – apkalbos ir arši kova dėl geresnės vietos po saule bei palankumo: neteisingai sužaidus haremo vidaus politinį žaidimą lengvai gali viskas baigtis kokiu nors nunuodijimu ar neaiškia savižudybe. Poligamija neskatina moterų draugystės. Haremo moterys retai kada turi galimybę išeiti už haremo ribų ir apie jų teises nedaug ką galima pasakyti. Tiesa, jos gali išsiskirti su savo vyru, jei jis su jomis nesimyli daugiau nei 3 savaites, bet išsiskyrusios moters padėtis visuomenėje turbūt dar blogesnė.
Šiaip atrodo, kad haremo išlaikymas ne vienam sultonui irgi buvo galvos skausmas: tai intrigų lizdas, kuris dažnai turėjo įtakos ir valstybės gyvenimui. Kadangi sostas yra paveldimas, monarchijoje labai svarbu užtikrinti stabilų tęstinumą pratęsiant giminę, bet turint keletą žmonų, kurios tarpusavyje varžosi dėl „pirmosios“ žmonos titulo (o kartu ir dėl savo vaikų paveldimo statuso) stabilumo tikėtis sunku. Turkiška patarlė sako, jog keturios žmonos namuose prilygsta laivui audroje.
Iš pirmo žvilgsnio iš tiesų haremas turėtų kaitinti aistringas mintis: uždarytos nuo vyriškių akių, apsuptos eunuchų, sultono moterys tik ir laukia, kada jomis pasitenkins namų šeimininkas. Pridėkime dar tai, jog Turkija prieš keletą šimtmečių europiečiams buvo didelė egzotika: šilkai, prabangi sultono rūmų aplinka, gausūs papuošalai, pilvo šokiai, keisti papročiai, ir visa tai po vos vos perregima paslapties skraiste, kuri leidžia daugiau išgalvoti svajingų fantazijų nei atskleisti kasdienybės realybę. Sultono rūmuose vos ne idilė: moterys nieko neveikia, tik rūpinasi savo grožiu, nuogos maudosi baseinuose, retkarčiais mylisi su sultonu ir leidžia savo dienas dykinėdamos. Viskam patarnauja gražios odaliskės, kurios, nors ir būdamos vergės, pilnai gali tapti legaliomis sultono žmonomis.
Realybė daug proziškesnė. Haremas – tai rūmų dalis, kurioje gyvena ne tik žmonos, bet visos rūmų moterys. Dažniausiai viskam diriguoja šeimininko mama, o neretai tai reikli ir žiauri moteris, žinanti savo vertę. Visos žmonos turi savo aiškias pareigas ir privilegijas, sultonas (ar šiaip namų šeimininkas) jas lanko pagal griežtą grafiką. Visas gyvenimas – apkalbos ir arši kova dėl geresnės vietos po saule bei palankumo: neteisingai sužaidus haremo vidaus politinį žaidimą lengvai gali viskas baigtis kokiu nors nunuodijimu ar neaiškia savižudybe. Poligamija neskatina moterų draugystės. Haremo moterys retai kada turi galimybę išeiti už haremo ribų ir apie jų teises nedaug ką galima pasakyti. Tiesa, jos gali išsiskirti su savo vyru, jei jis su jomis nesimyli daugiau nei 3 savaites, bet išsiskyrusios moters padėtis visuomenėje turbūt dar blogesnė.
Šiaip atrodo, kad haremo išlaikymas ne vienam sultonui irgi buvo galvos skausmas: tai intrigų lizdas, kuris dažnai turėjo įtakos ir valstybės gyvenimui. Kadangi sostas yra paveldimas, monarchijoje labai svarbu užtikrinti stabilų tęstinumą pratęsiant giminę, bet turint keletą žmonų, kurios tarpusavyje varžosi dėl „pirmosios“ žmonos titulo (o kartu ir dėl savo vaikų paveldimo statuso) stabilumo tikėtis sunku. Turkiška patarlė sako, jog keturios žmonos namuose prilygsta laivui audroje.
April 13, 2017
هؤلاء النساء الزهرات، الزهرات النساء، كان يُفضلهنّ على ما عداهنّ ويمضي لياليه في البيوت الزجاجية التي يخبئهنّ فيها كما لو كنّ في حرملك.
April 6, 2017
This book is an ok overview of harem history and traditions, but it does feel a bit dated and not very scholarly. I was often left wanting more precise references. The eBooks also stops at 70%, the rest is lists and further reading and so on, some of which I would rather have seen IN the book.
March 24, 2010
This is an excellent book.
Written by an intelligent woman with family ties to a harem, she offers personal observations along with various perspectives (Eastern, Western, last century, this century, male, female, etc...) to her compendium of historical fact.
Along with this, the book contains an appropriately opulent collection of fine art...and some not-so-fine art, but there is little of that. A mere annoyance, really.
There were many aspects to harems, and I learned much that I never knew.
It was a fascinating institution, flawed and captivating in more than one sense. I was interested to see how such an institution came about, and what effects it had on the men and women who lived by its rules.
Written by an intelligent woman with family ties to a harem, she offers personal observations along with various perspectives (Eastern, Western, last century, this century, male, female, etc...) to her compendium of historical fact.
Along with this, the book contains an appropriately opulent collection of fine art...and some not-so-fine art, but there is little of that. A mere annoyance, really.
There were many aspects to harems, and I learned much that I never knew.
It was a fascinating institution, flawed and captivating in more than one sense. I was interested to see how such an institution came about, and what effects it had on the men and women who lived by its rules.
August 3, 2007
Written from the perspective of those in the harem, this is a detailed if not particularly cohesive study of life inside a harem. As the cover might suggest, this book builds upon Western fantasies of harem life; in that sense it's quite entertaining, though I'm not sure if it's entirely accurate. The best aspect of the book by far is visual, with hundreds of wonderful illustrations. They certainly give a good sense of the luxuriousness of life in the seraglio (specifically, Topkapi Palace).
April 19, 2017
Very interesting, with lovely photos. This book sits with history and biography on my bookshelves.
April 9, 2020
(Review of 25th anniversary edition.) This is an absolutely fascinating look at the true world of the harem, as was practically historically in Turkey, and in contemporary times around the world. It definitely shatters the Western myth of harems as orgy-houses; though sex was certainly part of it, it was a relatively small part.
Far more interesting was the intrigue and scheming that went along with the inherent jealousy of the structure. Historically, the sultan's mother was the axis of the harem. Sometimes there was a "lead" wife, sometimes not. Any woman who bore a son for the sultan took a place among the hierarchy. Because of the rules of inheritance, the sultan's sons often plotted to murder each other in order to be the heir, and their mothers were part of the plots.
But even beyond the royal harems, everyday Moslems kept their women in harems through the 20th century, in a sort of gilded cage that no man was ever allowed to visit. Royal harems were guarded by eunuchs (who receive their own chapter in this book) - an interesting consequence was what happened to these men after the rule of the sultans was overthrown in favor of modern government. This class of people was created for a specific purpose, which has now disappeared. Now what?
Regular harems weren't guarded by anybody; men just knew that it was the woman's realm and stayed away. There were traditions to uphold (including the art of making Turkish coffee, which the author learned from her grandmother, who was a harem member as a youth). But women had very little freedom of choice in their so-called realm.
One interesting angle that the author pointed out is that real harems - as opposed to the sex-soaked Orientalist fantasies - exist today, in cultures that practice polygamy, like traditional African & Middle Eastern cultures, and the various Mormon sects in North America. I'd bet that so-called sister-wives don't think of themselves as members of harems!
I didn't quite buy the theory that men create harems in order to recreate the world of their mother's womb, but that was really the only thing that stretched my credulity. While a straight-up history of royal harems would be interesting (several scandalous and intriguing women are discussed here, as part of Turkish history), this was a fascinating read in its own right, and I'm glad I found it in the depths of digital borrowing. Definite recommend for those interested in a non-politicized view of the topic.
Far more interesting was the intrigue and scheming that went along with the inherent jealousy of the structure. Historically, the sultan's mother was the axis of the harem. Sometimes there was a "lead" wife, sometimes not. Any woman who bore a son for the sultan took a place among the hierarchy. Because of the rules of inheritance, the sultan's sons often plotted to murder each other in order to be the heir, and their mothers were part of the plots.
But even beyond the royal harems, everyday Moslems kept their women in harems through the 20th century, in a sort of gilded cage that no man was ever allowed to visit. Royal harems were guarded by eunuchs (who receive their own chapter in this book) - an interesting consequence was what happened to these men after the rule of the sultans was overthrown in favor of modern government. This class of people was created for a specific purpose, which has now disappeared. Now what?
Regular harems weren't guarded by anybody; men just knew that it was the woman's realm and stayed away. There were traditions to uphold (including the art of making Turkish coffee, which the author learned from her grandmother, who was a harem member as a youth). But women had very little freedom of choice in their so-called realm.
One interesting angle that the author pointed out is that real harems - as opposed to the sex-soaked Orientalist fantasies - exist today, in cultures that practice polygamy, like traditional African & Middle Eastern cultures, and the various Mormon sects in North America. I'd bet that so-called sister-wives don't think of themselves as members of harems!
I didn't quite buy the theory that men create harems in order to recreate the world of their mother's womb, but that was really the only thing that stretched my credulity. While a straight-up history of royal harems would be interesting (several scandalous and intriguing women are discussed here, as part of Turkish history), this was a fascinating read in its own right, and I'm glad I found it in the depths of digital borrowing. Definite recommend for those interested in a non-politicized view of the topic.
August 13, 2020
Haremul, cunoscut în mentalul colectiv drept locul unde sultanii otomani își țineau nevestele, se referă prin extensie și la toate femeile dintr-o familie. Și pentru că obiceiurile, meleagurile și lucrurile specifice Orientului i-au fascinat mereu pe occidentali s-a născut și acest interes aproape nesănătos cu haremurile - alimentat și de presupusele fantezii masculine de putere.
Născută în Turcia dar stabilită ulterior în State, autoarea ne prezintă "tăinuitul" univers al haremurilor cu o oarecare autoritate, datorită originii sale. Ne sunt, deci, prezentate piețele de sclavi și restul modurilor în care erau procurate... viitoarele neveste, opulența palatelor "serai", rutina zilnică din leneșele ginecee, dar și personalități marcante ale istoriei otomane, precum puternicele (dar puținele) sultane. Stilul autoarei este oral, lipsit de pretenții, încărcat de istorii personale (bunica ei făcând parte dintr-un harem de oraș, cu puțin înainte de desființarea acestora la ordinele lui Kemal Atatürk), dar și cam simplist pe alocuri, făcând unele greșeli (date istorice, citate inexistente din Coran) - lucru care se datorează probabil unei bibliografii nu prea impresionante - mai ales dacă e vorba despre un subiect atât de vast, care acoperă practic 600 de ani de istorie.
Menționez, de asemenea, că ediția în românește a cărții suferă de impardonabila crimă de a publica absolut toate ilustrațiile bogat colorate (cam 100) în alb/negru.
Născută în Turcia dar stabilită ulterior în State, autoarea ne prezintă "tăinuitul" univers al haremurilor cu o oarecare autoritate, datorită originii sale. Ne sunt, deci, prezentate piețele de sclavi și restul modurilor în care erau procurate... viitoarele neveste, opulența palatelor "serai", rutina zilnică din leneșele ginecee, dar și personalități marcante ale istoriei otomane, precum puternicele (dar puținele) sultane. Stilul autoarei este oral, lipsit de pretenții, încărcat de istorii personale (bunica ei făcând parte dintr-un harem de oraș, cu puțin înainte de desființarea acestora la ordinele lui Kemal Atatürk), dar și cam simplist pe alocuri, făcând unele greșeli (date istorice, citate inexistente din Coran) - lucru care se datorează probabil unei bibliografii nu prea impresionante - mai ales dacă e vorba despre un subiect atât de vast, care acoperă practic 600 de ani de istorie.
Menționez, de asemenea, că ediția în românește a cărții suferă de impardonabila crimă de a publica absolut toate ilustrațiile bogat colorate (cam 100) în alb/negru.
November 27, 2021
I am not a Muslim but I have read the Quran. I have a Masters in History. Particularly in Middle Eastern Studies. I have studied the Ottoman and Persian empires extensively. So of course I have read the Quran cover to cover. The stuff about the harem itself seems legitimate, but there have been blatant misquotings of the Quran that seem intentionally misleading. It almost seems like the publisher wanted this to appeal to the Western Christian audience and sell more books. It is very negligent to do this in a historical non-fiction piece. It spoiled the book for me, because now I question the credibility of the author. That was a mistake on their part. But so many people are relying on this information to be unbiased and legit- they have no idea these few parts, they slyly slid in here, are huge misrepresentations. I think I am going to mark it 3 stars though, because it does have some useful information- though it does smell of being white-washed and contains Western bias in it's attempt to slander the Quran or misrepresent it. I just hope it was not the authors intention and this was the publishers idea. Because otherwise that would be such a pity. It was almost a really good work!
September 10, 2017
I bought this book because of a long-standing interest in the Near East and Central Asia, and to learn about the lives of women in those countries. (History of the Wife is a fantastic book, but very Euro-centric.) But I was apprehensive, because it can very easily cross into a poorly researched subject written purely for titillation. Fortunately, the author is Turkish, her grandmother was in a harem, and she knew eunuchs as a child. For her, harem life wasn't an exotic story for a far-off land, but part of her heritage.
The book itself is woefully short, due to the absence of materials for research. Croutier does admirably well with what she could find, emphasizing that the women of the Turkish Royal Harem were, in fact, slaves without being heavy-handed. Eunuchs were also slaves. They could, and were, killed on the whim of the Sultan. Their lives were not something to envy, or to fantasize about, because they were very often unhappy.
The lives of women are so much more enlightening than the lives of men when it comes to history. I look forward to reading Croutier's historical fiction in the future.
The book itself is woefully short, due to the absence of materials for research. Croutier does admirably well with what she could find, emphasizing that the women of the Turkish Royal Harem were, in fact, slaves without being heavy-handed. Eunuchs were also slaves. They could, and were, killed on the whim of the Sultan. Their lives were not something to envy, or to fantasize about, because they were very often unhappy.
The lives of women are so much more enlightening than the lives of men when it comes to history. I look forward to reading Croutier's historical fiction in the future.
October 29, 2018
An informative and entertaining read by an author whose own Mideast family history gave her authentic insight into many of the customs and practices described. Croutier generally avoids sensationalism and moralizing in favor of a straightforward descriptive narrative. I had been most interested in the chapter dealing with Orientalism and found none of the condemnation that Said (who is never mentioned) expressed in his now famous book. Instead, Croutier describes a reverse process in which Turkish harem women espoused Western fashions and feminism to the extent that they demanded their own independence.
This is one of Abbeville's publications and the volume is accordingly filled with lavish illustrations, the majority of them Orientalist fantasies created by Western artists. These include several illustrations by Bakst for Ballets Russes productions.
This is one of Abbeville's publications and the volume is accordingly filled with lavish illustrations, the majority of them Orientalist fantasies created by Western artists. These include several illustrations by Bakst for Ballets Russes productions.
August 29, 2017
I bought this book because some scenes in Ali and Nino had made me super curious about life in regular harems. Fully half the book was devoted to life in Topkapi palace. Having spent a number of years living within a few miles of Topkapi, in a period of Turkish history when Ottoman mania was waxing and the most popular soap on teevee was about Topkapi palace, I was mildly disappointed. There was interesting stuff, but I felt the book glossed over a lot of stuff I was deeply interested in, and if you want to know about harems in places other than Turkey, or how harems across cultures differed you are quite out of luck.
November 5, 2025
I enjoyed this book immensely but there were quite a few big assertions made that I was not able to corroborate so I am taking this book with a giant grain of salt. I am not muslim myself but I was surprised by what I felt were misquotations of the Quran (not necessarily against the intrepretation of the author but it made me have way less confidence in the book). Overall a good introduction and certainly a fascinating read. The author claims to be authoritative in the matter, and while I am not myself an academic I question some of the information in this book.
March 24, 2017
This is a lavishly illustrated look at the secret world of the harem, and goes into great detail about how harems were run, with their strict hierarchies of slaves and servants, the day-to-day practicalities of how such institutions were managed, and much more. Complete with plans showing the layout of a harem, descriptions of the different types of women who were sequestered within its walls, and even information about how men were created eunuchs to serve there, this is a fascinating peek into a mysterious past. I found it most interesting, particularly as the author has family connections to the subject.
An advance copy was provided by the publisher in return for a review.
An advance copy was provided by the publisher in return for a review.
September 18, 2024
9/2024. Well researched and interesting , but very disturbing and depressing - especially as there are movements and places seeking to put women back into positions of total subservience to males. As frustrating as it has been to fight for the rights of women in my time, I am glad to have been born in the USA in the 20th century rather than in a moslem country during the time of harems.
January 22, 2026
"All that remains now of these women’s lives are latticed windows, labyrinthine corridors, marbled baths, and dusty divans. Still, tales of the women behind the veil live on, an echo of the pathos and the pleasure of the One Thousand and One Nights, a part of our memory and also a part of tonight."
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