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Katie Hickman
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Publisher | Bloomsbury | ||
ISBN | 9780747596448 | ||
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Synopsis
Elizabeth Stavely sits in the Bodleian Library, her hands trembling as she holds a fragment of parchment, the key to a story untold for four hundred years Constantinople 1599: the English merchant Paul Pindar must deliver an extraordinary gift to the Sultan. Grieving for his lost love, drowned in a shipwreck, he hears rumours of a new golden-haired slave in the Sultan's harem. Could this be his Celia?
Review
The Aviary Gate seems like a novel that could be a bit like Marmite! Love it or Hate it! I'm not one for historical novels but went along with this one, with an open mind. I'm glad I did! I felt very Marmite-ish about it, too. As in there were parts I thought brilliant and parts that just... weren't! Hickman has written a book that lusciously describes Constantinople in 1599, with the silks, perfumed gardens, jewels etc... You can almost feel and see the world she was trying to create, it's stunning and utterly involving. The Elizabethan narrative was rich and the pace of the story was fast and thrilling. It is definitely worth picking up just for this.
BUT and the is always a 'but' with me, the dual timeline/story was a little... distracting, as the present day character, Elizabeth Stavely, was completely flat and thoroughly unlike-able. I did not care for this part of the story and thought it could have been a well presented book without the involvement of the 'present time' and it's heroine. Actually it could have been two separate books entirely!
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