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kimswhims's review
4.0
Rounding the rating up from 3.8 stars.
She may be the Great Sultan's daughter and the new Sultan's sister, but she was the naughty daughter, the rebellious sister and she'd slipped down the scale to a point of insignificance, exiled and isolated. But even a low class sister can go too far.
At first, I thought, "hang on, Set in a harem in Zanzibar, I've read this before, this was only published in 2020, What?"
Turning to the back cover there is a photo of this historical figure, she was a Princess of Zanzibar, Sayyida Salme (1844-1924). I had no idea until now that she was a real person.
She had taught herself to read and write and was unusual in her culture at the time. In later years, while in Germany, to support herself financially, she wrote [b:Memoirs of an Arabian Princess from Zanzibar|31327810|Memoirs of an Arabian Princess from Zanzibar|Emily Ruete|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1470146220l/31327810._SX50_.jpg|2551248] using her anglicised name [a:Emily Ruete|360988|Emily Ruete|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1288704612p2/360988.jpg].
She is reputed to have fallen in love with a wealthy German trader (who was her neighbour in Stone Town) and escaped from Zanzibar's Sultan, eventually living the rest of her days in Germany.
This novel, is a very good update, to lift the veil on culture shock, as this brave and accomplished woman may have experienced it.
While the life of a woman of the Harem may have had it's constraints, a woman's life in European culture during the period had it's own but extremely different constraints.
The writing of the novel is a decent and clear narrative which tells a fascinating story.
A previous novel [b:Trade Wind|10218|Trade Wind|M.M. Kaye|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1310850618l/10218._SY75_.jpg|1621037] by M. M. Kaye, mentions her as a character, in a romanticised way amongst other fictional characters, with the slave trade as a backdrop. That's where I'd heard of her before.
She may be the Great Sultan's daughter and the new Sultan's sister, but she was the naughty daughter, the rebellious sister and she'd slipped down the scale to a point of insignificance, exiled and isolated. But even a low class sister can go too far.
At first, I thought, "hang on, Set in a harem in Zanzibar, I've read this before, this was only published in 2020, What?"
Turning to the back cover there is a photo of this historical figure, she was a Princess of Zanzibar, Sayyida Salme (1844-1924). I had no idea until now that she was a real person.
She had taught herself to read and write and was unusual in her culture at the time. In later years, while in Germany, to support herself financially, she wrote [b:Memoirs of an Arabian Princess from Zanzibar|31327810|Memoirs of an Arabian Princess from Zanzibar|Emily Ruete|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1470146220l/31327810._SX50_.jpg|2551248] using her anglicised name [a:Emily Ruete|360988|Emily Ruete|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1288704612p2/360988.jpg].
She is reputed to have fallen in love with a wealthy German trader (who was her neighbour in Stone Town) and escaped from Zanzibar's Sultan, eventually living the rest of her days in Germany.
This novel, is a very good update, to lift the veil on culture shock, as this brave and accomplished woman may have experienced it.
While the life of a woman of the Harem may have had it's constraints, a woman's life in European culture during the period had it's own but extremely different constraints.
The writing of the novel is a decent and clear narrative which tells a fascinating story.
A previous novel [b:Trade Wind|10218|Trade Wind|M.M. Kaye|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1310850618l/10218._SY75_.jpg|1621037] by M. M. Kaye, mentions her as a character, in a romanticised way amongst other fictional characters, with the slave trade as a backdrop. That's where I'd heard of her before.
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