the Setting of this novel: By the late 1800s, the Ottoman Empire had been thriving for almost 500 years. Founded on even older civilisations (the Byzantines, Greeks, Romans and, before that, other civilisations not as well known today), it was a truly multi-ethnic, multi-denominational empire. Jews, Armenians, Greek Orthodox Christians, Muslim Turks, Arabs, people of all faiths from the Balkans, European 'Franks' and many others mingled in the streets and in households. They were craftsmen, traders, and servants, but also held important positions as doctors, merchants, bankers, and advisors to the sultan.

It was a period of profound social and political change, when educated and wealthy urbanites were acquiring European customs and technology. Some were interested in European political models, like the parliament. Despite European support for the independence movements that were breaking the empire apart, including the Balkans, Greece and parts of the Arab world, many young Ottomans admired European political values, science, and ideas about society. Some Ottoman leaders also felt they could only fight European attacks by emulating their enemy.

Another European idea, nationalism – the idea that a nation should be organised around the identity of 'a people' – began to take root. By contrast, an empire could contain many kinds of people, all keeping their separate identities, since they were united only by virtue of being subjects of the same ruler. Nationalist aspirations led to movements for independence from the Ottoman Empire, but also to backlashes and intolerance.

Ottomans worried, with some justification, that nationalism would lead to the purging of minorities. (Minorities were mostly defined in religious terms in those days. Only in the age of nation-states organised around the principles of nationality and nationalism did the term ethnicity come into use, often to refer to a people defined by a shared language.) The spread of nationalism led to population exchanges and expulsions across the region by newly independent states and, eventually, by the Ottoman Empire and its successor in the 20th century, the Turkish nation-state.

In the 1880s, you could see the shape of the future, but it had not yet taken on a concrete form. People were trying out new roles. They were debating things like the role of religion in society, the challenge posed to faith by science and reason, abolishing slavery, and what women's roles should be in the home and in society. How should minorities be incorporated in the political scheme of the Empire? Should they act first and foremost as Ottoman citizens or should their loyalty be to their own sect? What does it mean to be modern? What are the costs of progress? What are the rights and obligations of the individual and those of the family and society as a whole? Should one be given preference over the other? The Ottomans were worried about the consequences of change, the decline of the family, losing the moral fibre of society. In many ways, these are questions we are still struggling with today.

About the author

Jenny White is an anthropologist and the author of numerous non-fiction works on Turkish politics and society. She lives in Massachusetts. The Sultan's Seal is her first novel.

Also see Jenny White's website www.jennywhite.net

For discussion

What was the author trying to do with this novel?
'Aside from telling a good, engaging story, I hoped to give a visceral sense of being in those times. I wanted to dramatise my experience of Turkey, to capture the mystery and the contradictions without trying to order them or analyse them like I do in my anthropological writings. I also hoped to dispel some of the stereotypes, while still acknowledging the magic and lushness of that period. In the novel, the Ottomans claim some of the virtues the West usually claims for itself, like tolerance and family values, and they blame Western-style nationalism for the spread of ethnic and religious intolerance.' (Jenny White)

What events and themes in the book resonate with today’s news?

Consider for instance:

• The debate amongst Muslims over the role of women in society and whether they should be active in the public arena. In some countries, like Turkey, women have equal rights to men; in others, like Saudi Arabia, their activities are severely curtailed.
• Debates about a “clash of civilisations” and stereotypes about “Muslims” and the characteristics of “East” versus “West”.
• Some people question whether Islam can be the basis for a tolerant society. Others point to the Ottoman Empire as an example of how this worked in the past.
• The current debate over whether Turkey is “Western” enough to join the European Union.
• The effect of nationalist movements on tolerance towards minorities throughout Europe.
• The debate concerning the decline of family values and sense of community in Western society.
• The debate concerning tolerance of same-sex relationships.

The role of women

The power and education of Ottoman women, especially wealthy women (even those living in harems), can be underestimated. European women had few rights at that time. The letters of Sybil, the British ambassador’s daughter, contrast Victorian women’s lives and attitudes with those of Ottoman women she meets. Her own view of Ottoman life mingles a colonial arrogance with longing. Many different kinds of relationships were possible between women, between men, and between men and women. Some forms of friendship, love, and sensuality were experienced differently in the Ottoman Empire and Britain. For instance, Mary’s sexual preferences were not accepted in England, yet Jaanan’s interaction with Violet wasn’t labelled and didn’t raise any eyebrows.

• Is there power for women within the harem, or does being separate from men keep women from being powerful?
• What attracts Sybil to Ottoman life and why? Do you think a Western woman could give up her culture and truly become “Eastern”?

The role of faith and religion in people’s lives

Is Jaanan’s understanding of Islam the same as that of her mother and her uncle? Does Michel’s Judaism play any role in his actions?

• Kamil wrestles with the seeming incompatibility of faith and reason. Does he find a solution with which he can live? Can faith and reason ever be reconciled?
• What does Kamil mean when he worries that the introduction of rational thinking, order, logic, and control will bring about the loss of nuance, sensuality, chaos and emotion? What concrete things is he worried will disappear?

Love and relationships

• What role do love and sex play in Kamil’s life? In Jaanan’s life? Is there a difference in the effect love and sex have on their lives? If so, why?
• How does Mary understand her relationship with Jaanan? How does Jaanan understand it? Compare Mary’s relationship with Jaanan to Violet’s.
• Marriage between cousins was accepted and even desirable in Ottoman times. Does that make Janaan’s relationship with her cousin Hamza legitimate? How does Hamza’s past affect his relationship with Jaanan and her family?
• Kamil has very few friends: only Bernie and Michel. Why is he so closed off from other men?

Role of the family

• What role does the family play in the lives of Kamil, Sybil, and Jaanan? Is there a difference between Ottoman and British society, in the makeup of the family and in the role of the family in the lives of individuals? What is your ideal family?

Social and political ideology in the Ottoman world

• What are some of the differences between Europe and the Ottoman Empire at the time, as seen from the European point of view, represented by Sybil and Bernie, and from the Ottoman point of view, as represented by Kamil? Was there more than one Ottoman point of view about the ideal form of society and political organisation? What is the difference between the views of Kamil and Michel? Between Jaanan’s father and her uncle Ismail Hodja?
• What does being modern mean to Kamil? How does Kamil differ from Jaanan’s father, who takes a second wife in order to be modern? Do they fit your definition of modern?