The Buzz...About Books

On May 29, 1453, a event occurred of such significance that some historians mark that day as the end of the Middle Ages. On this day, the city of Constantinople fell to the armies of the Ottoman Empire. This ended the thousand year-old Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire and began the rise of the Ottoman Empire in the city that we know today as Istanbul.

Historical fiction is my favourite way to learn more about history. If you are interested in finding out more about Istanbul, here are some titles set (at least partially) in that historic city.  

 A Place Called Armageddon: Constantinople 1453 by C. C. Humphreys
The story of the fall of Constantinople told through several characters, including Sultan Mehmet II, the Greek mercenary and exile Gregoras  and Leilah, a powerful mystic and assassin. Canadian author. 

The Architect's Apprentice by Elif Shafak
In 1540, twelve-year-old Jahan, an animal tamer in the sultan’s menagerie, falls for the sultan’s beautiful daughter, Princess Mihrimah. A palace education leads Jahan to the empire’s chief architect, who takes Jahan under his wing as they construct some of the most magnificent buildings in history. 
• eBook

Baudolino by Umberto Eco and translated by William Weaver.
It is April 1204, and Constantinople is being sacked  by the knights of the Fourth Crusade. After saving high court official from certain death, Baudolino tells his life story, from his birth in northern Italy, his adoption by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, and his arrival in Constantinople.
• Audiobook
• eBook

My Name is Red by Orphan Pamuk
In sixteenth-century Istanbul, the Sultan starts a furor when he commissions the most acclaimed artists to create a controversial illuminated manuscript.   When one of the miniaturists vanishes, panic erupts among the artists while the only clue to the mystery lies in the half-finished illuminations themselves.
• Audiobook
• eBook
• eAudiobook
• Talking Book (Restricted to print disabled patrons)

The Sheen on the Silk by Anne Perry
Arriving in Constantinople in 1273, Anna Zarides sets out to prove the innocence of her twin brother, Justinian, who has been exiled to the desert for conspiring to kill a nobleman. To accomplish this goal, Anna disguising herself as a eunuch and uses her skills as a physician to get close to the people who have Justinian's fate in their hands.
• Large Print
• Audiobook
• eBook
• Talking Book (Restricted to print disabled patrons)