title: Harem: The World Behind the Veil
author:  Alev Lytle Croutier 
description: For almost 400 years, until 1909, the Grand Harem in Istanbul's Topkapi Palace was home to as many as 2000 odalisques bought at slave markets for a price lower than the going rate for a good horse. The Turkish author relates the day-to-day experiences of the women who inhabited these chambers: what they ate, wore, the games they played together, the opium-induced reveries in which they passed long hours. Croutier also considers the harem in larger contexts: as the "unbelievably repressive" Moslem equivalent of purdah; as "a unique archetype of the collective unconscious--matriarchy incubating in the cradle of patriarchy." But "harem" is Turkish for "forbidden, protected," and the Grand Harem guarded its secrets from the world successfully. Partly because Croutier doesn't always evoke harem life well in her own words, we wish for--but don't hear--the voices of the women themselves. Ultimately, the text is a choppy amalgam of history, reminiscence, conjecture and intermittently overblown writing ("The walls seemed to whisper secrets pleading to be heard"). Much more evocative are the 125 photographs and reproductions of art works included here. Author tour. <br />Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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  # Four on the Floor
  
  
  ### A Reverse Harem Romance
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## Parker Grey
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Copyright © 2019 by Parker Grey
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  All rights reserved.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or
  mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without
  written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in
  a book review.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Cover: Coverlüv
  
  
  Editing: Sennah Tate
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Contents
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 1](part0003.html#2RHM0-3cc149978c4843e6ada5c44116b2b726)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 2](part0004.html#3Q280-3cc149978c4843e6ada5c44116b2b726)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 3](part0005.html#4OIQ0-3cc149978c4843e6ada5c44116b2b726)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 4](part0006.html#5N3C0-3cc149978c4843e6ada5c44116b2b726)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 5](part0007.html#6LJU0-3cc149978c4843e6ada5c44116b2b726)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 6](part0008.html#7K4G0-3cc149978c4843e6ada5c44116b2b726)
  
  
  
  
  