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The Parchment Notebook
Cairo, Egypt, 1919
Hezba, the rebellious seventeen-year-old daughter of the Sultan of Egypt, lives a life of luxury in a mansion overlooking the river Nile. Locked away in the harem, she has everything she wants, except the one thing that will keep her from madness; her freedom.
The Sultan has ordered Hezba back into the care of her husband, the ageing and abusive Khalil al-Shezira, but Hezba's secret lover has other ideas, so does Hezba. She wants al-Shezira gone from her life and she wants change. She'll stop at nothing to achieve her desires.
In 1919, Egypt, and in a world reeling from the devastation of the First World War, Hezba is considered a dangerous female; as the daughter of the Sultan of Egypt, she is expected to do as she is told.
But for Hezba, submission is impossible; love, revolution and freedom from repression are worth dying for.
The Parchment Notebook was originally published by Thomas Mercer, USA as The Hidden, a novel that won the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA) in 2013, in the Mystery/Suspense category and became an overnight bestseller.
Now published by 8dpress, Edinburgh, The Hidden has been split into two stories, The Parchment Notebook being the first in The Hidden series.
Aimee's War is the second book in the series; The Zephyr, the third; and The Unforgiven the last in the series. All are available for purchase on Amazon. The Hidden, as published by Thomas Mercer is no longer in print.
Hezba, the rebellious seventeen-year-old daughter of the Sultan of Egypt, lives a life of luxury in a mansion overlooking the river Nile. Locked away in the harem, she has everything she wants, except the one thing that will keep her from madness; her freedom.
The Sultan has ordered Hezba back into the care of her husband, the ageing and abusive Khalil al-Shezira, but Hezba's secret lover has other ideas, so does Hezba. She wants al-Shezira gone from her life and she wants change. She'll stop at nothing to achieve her desires.
In 1919, Egypt, and in a world reeling from the devastation of the First World War, Hezba is considered a dangerous female; as the daughter of the Sultan of Egypt, she is expected to do as she is told.
But for Hezba, submission is impossible; love, revolution and freedom from repression are worth dying for.
The Parchment Notebook was originally published by Thomas Mercer, USA as The Hidden, a novel that won the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA) in 2013, in the Mystery/Suspense category and became an overnight bestseller.
Now published by 8dpress, Edinburgh, The Hidden has been split into two stories, The Parchment Notebook being the first in The Hidden series.
Aimee's War is the second book in the series; The Zephyr, the third; and The Unforgiven the last in the series. All are available for purchase on Amazon. The Hidden, as published by Thomas Mercer is no longer in print.
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Published July 27, 2017
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About the author
Jo Chumas
11 books55 followersPublishers Weekly on The Hidden
This sophisticated, first-rate mystery novel/political thriller takes place in Cairo, Egypt. It alternates points of view and shifts time frames to create an outstanding narrative with nail-biting suspense. Yet, it is much more than a clear-cut thriller.
It offers a penetrating account of Egyptian culture, the role of women in society, and the profundity of love. The story begins in 1940. Haran Issawi, chief advisor to King Faruk, discusses with his top security men newly discovered intelligence of an assassination plot against him to be carried out by the Group of the X, a proletarian nationalist organization that seeks to overthrow the Egyptian government.
Meanwhile, Aimee Ibrahim, the young and alluring widow of Azi Ibrahim, an academician who was mysteriously murdered, is asked to come to the university where Azi taught to collect his belongings. A parcel wrapped in brown paper and tied with string entices Aimee. She opens it and discovers her mother's diary, written 20 years ago. Aimee never knew her mother, Hezba Sultan, who was born into royalty as the only daughter of Ali Sultan Pasha.
Now, with this relic of Hezba's past in Aimee's possession, she speculates about what secrets it may reveal. Aimee also wonders why Azi had Hezba's journal and why it was hidden at his office. Aimee is invited to the launch party of a poetry book written by the university's up-and-coming literary talents where she meets Farouk, who is the editor of the Cairo newspaper, The Liberation, and, unbeknownst to Aimee, one of the notorious "ringleaders" in the Group of X. Even though the encounter irritated Aimee -- she didn't like the way Farouk stared at her -- she couldn't stop thinking about him after their goodbyes. Farouk, too, was enchanted. Their friendship blossoms, yet can they trust one another?
Hezba's flawless diary entries are incorporated into the novel, and they welcome readers into the fascinating yet brutal world of Egyptian harem life in the early 20th century. Hezba's writings tell of her nature as a defiant, impatient and desperately unhappy woman who seeks freedom beyond the strictures of the palace and the societal limitations placed on women. Circumcised at age five and married at age 11 to 50-year-old Khalil al-Shezira in a political maneuver arranged by her father, Hezba's joy is her secret love affair with Anton Alexandre, a member of the Rebel Corp which is agitating for revolution against the British occupation of Egypt. Hezba aligns herself with Alexandre's rebel activity, and, as the novel switches back and forth in time, it becomes increasingly intriguing how crucial Hezba's journal is to the unfolding of events in 1940.
This is a novel that keeps readers guessing -- presumed allegiances are not always what they seem to be when bombs explode and characters are killed and truths are revealed. This is an excellent, well-written, and forceful work of fiction
For more information on Jo visit her website www.jochumas.com
This sophisticated, first-rate mystery novel/political thriller takes place in Cairo, Egypt. It alternates points of view and shifts time frames to create an outstanding narrative with nail-biting suspense. Yet, it is much more than a clear-cut thriller.
It offers a penetrating account of Egyptian culture, the role of women in society, and the profundity of love. The story begins in 1940. Haran Issawi, chief advisor to King Faruk, discusses with his top security men newly discovered intelligence of an assassination plot against him to be carried out by the Group of the X, a proletarian nationalist organization that seeks to overthrow the Egyptian government.
Meanwhile, Aimee Ibrahim, the young and alluring widow of Azi Ibrahim, an academician who was mysteriously murdered, is asked to come to the university where Azi taught to collect his belongings. A parcel wrapped in brown paper and tied with string entices Aimee. She opens it and discovers her mother's diary, written 20 years ago. Aimee never knew her mother, Hezba Sultan, who was born into royalty as the only daughter of Ali Sultan Pasha.
Now, with this relic of Hezba's past in Aimee's possession, she speculates about what secrets it may reveal. Aimee also wonders why Azi had Hezba's journal and why it was hidden at his office. Aimee is invited to the launch party of a poetry book written by the university's up-and-coming literary talents where she meets Farouk, who is the editor of the Cairo newspaper, The Liberation, and, unbeknownst to Aimee, one of the notorious "ringleaders" in the Group of X. Even though the encounter irritated Aimee -- she didn't like the way Farouk stared at her -- she couldn't stop thinking about him after their goodbyes. Farouk, too, was enchanted. Their friendship blossoms, yet can they trust one another?
Hezba's flawless diary entries are incorporated into the novel, and they welcome readers into the fascinating yet brutal world of Egyptian harem life in the early 20th century. Hezba's writings tell of her nature as a defiant, impatient and desperately unhappy woman who seeks freedom beyond the strictures of the palace and the societal limitations placed on women. Circumcised at age five and married at age 11 to 50-year-old Khalil al-Shezira in a political maneuver arranged by her father, Hezba's joy is her secret love affair with Anton Alexandre, a member of the Rebel Corp which is agitating for revolution against the British occupation of Egypt. Hezba aligns herself with Alexandre's rebel activity, and, as the novel switches back and forth in time, it becomes increasingly intriguing how crucial Hezba's journal is to the unfolding of events in 1940.
This is a novel that keeps readers guessing -- presumed allegiances are not always what they seem to be when bombs explode and characters are killed and truths are revealed. This is an excellent, well-written, and forceful work of fiction
For more information on Jo visit her website www.jochumas.com
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