Mother
of the Believers: A Novel of the Birth of Islam
Kamran Pasha
Deep in the heart of seventh-century Arabia, a new prophet named
Muhammad has arisen. As his message of enlightenment sweeps
through Arabia and unifies the warring tribes, his young wife
Aisha recounts Muhammad's astonishing transformation from prophet
to warrior to statesman. But just after the moment of her
husband's greatest triumph -- the conquest of the holy city of
Mecca -- Muhammad falls ill and dies in Aisha's arms. A young
widow, Aisha finds herself at the center of the new Muslim empire
and becomes by turns a teacher, political leader, and
warrior.Written in beautiful prose and meticulously researched,
Mother of the Believer is the story of an extraordinary woman who
was destined to help usher Islam into the world. |
Jewel
of Medina
Sherry Jones
A-isha bint Abi Bakr is the daughter of a rich merchant from Mecca
in the harsh, exotic world of seventh-century Arabia at the time
of the foundation of Islam. When she is married to the Prophet
Muhammad at the age of nine, she must rely on her wits, her
courage, and even her sword in a struggle to control her own
destiny and carve out a place for herself in the community,
fighting religious persecution, jealous sister-wives, political
rivals, and her own temptations. As she grows to love her kind,
generous husband, her ingenuity and devotion make her an
indispensable advisor to Muhammad. Ultimately, she becomes one of
the most important women in Islam, and a fierce protector of her
husband's words and legacy. |
Assassin:
Casca #13
Barry Sadler
The Eternal Mercenary in the Middle East of the Middle Ages. |
Baghdad
Voices
of the Desert
Nelida Pinon
Brazilian author Piñon (Caetana's Sweet Song) returns
with a new interpretation of Scheherazade's One Thousand and
One Nights, this time told from Scheherazade's point of
view. In ancient Baghdad, with the cuckolded caliph avenging his
wife's betrayal by marrying a new virgin daily and beheading her
the following morning, the young high-born Scheherazade plans to
end this violent cycle. After ceding to the caliph's methodical
advances on their wedding night, Scheherazade asks permission to
tell him a story. With her sister Dinazarda and the slave girls
Djauara and Jasmine complicit in the scheme, Scheherazade tells
her magnificent tales, each cliffhanger buying her another day.
Instead of narrating the tales themselves, Piñon's elegantly
translated prose focuses on her characters' passions, desires
and obsessions in a world where the veiled females are powerful
and powerless, demure yet erotic. Emphasizing the paradoxical
nature of this existence, Piñon's treatment of sexuality is at
once clinical and kinky, and her frequent inversion of sexual
power structures serves as the psychoanalytic motivation for her
divergent rendering of the legend's conclusion. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. |
Eaters
of the Dead
Author: Michael Crichton; Buy New: $7.99
In 922 A.D. an ambassador from Baghdad falls in with a group
of Vikings and, though horrified by their barbaric ways, wanton
sexuality, and human sacrifices, goes adventuring with
them. See also The Thirteenth Warrior in Movies.
NLS RC 38339 and BR 03125 (Braille)
|
Najila
Author: C. J. Illinik; Buy New: $11.89
A novel of a young woman in 11th century Baghdad
|
Egypt
The
Arabian Nightmare
Author: Robert Irwin; Buy New: $10.17
The trials and tribulations of an English spy in 15th century
Cairo.
|
The
Book of Saladin
Author: Tariq Ali; Buy New: $11.86
A rich, teeming chronicle set in 12th century Cairo,
Damascus, and
Jerusalem
|
A
Stolen Tongue
Author: Sheri Holman; Buy New: $10.20
A 15th century monk on pilgrimage to Alexandira, Egypt,
paysing along the way to visit the various shrines and relics of
St. Katherine.
|
Turkey
See also Byzantium
The
Kadin
Author: Bertrice Small; Buy New: $7.99
A Scottish beauty is abducted and sold into the harem of the
Sultan of Turkey
|
The
Aviary Gate
Author: Katie Hickman; Buy New: $17.15
Forbidden love and murder in the Ottoman palace
|
Sofia
Author: Ann Chamberlin;
Book 1 in a trilogy set in the harem of the Sultan of Turkey
|
The
Sultan's Daughter
Author: Ann Chamberlin; |
Reign
of the Favored Women
Author: Ann Chamberlin;
Third book in the trilogy about the scheming, ambitious women
who vie
for power in the Sultan's harem.
|
The
Sultan's Harem
Author: Colin Falconer; Buy New: $11.86
The harem of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent is a hotbed of
conniving
women.
|
Knights
Besieged
Author: Nancy Faulkner;
A slave of the Sultan's escapes and is determined to
make his way home
to England.
|
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