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    The Aviary Gate: A Novel
    The Aviary Gate: A Novel
    The Aviary Gate: A Novel
    Audiobook12 hours

    The Aviary Gate: A Novel

    Written by Katie Hickman

    Narrated by Josephine Bailey

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Elizabeth Staveley sits in the Bodleian library, holding in her trembling hands a fragment of ancient paper. It is the key to a story that has been locked away for four centuries-the story of a British sea captain's daughter held captive in the sultan's harem.

    Constantinople, 1599. There are rumors and strange stirrings in the sultan's palace. The chief black eunuch has been poisoned by a taste of a beautiful ship made of spun sugar. The sultan's mother faces threats to her power from her son's favorite concubine. And a secret rebellion is rising within the palace's most private quarters.

    Meanwhile, the merchant Paul Pindar, secretary to the English ambassador, brings a precious gift to the sultan. As he nears the palace, word comes to Pindar that the woman he once loved, Celia, may be alive and hidden among the ranks of slaves in the sultan's harem. Can this really be the same Celia who disappeared in a shipwreck? And if it is, can the two be reunited?
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateJun 30, 2008
    ISBN9781400177790
    The Aviary Gate: A Novel
    Author

    Katie Hickman

    Katie Hickman is the author of six previous books, including two bestselling history books, Courtesans and Daughters of Britannia. She has written two travel books: Travels with a Circus, about her experiences travelling with a Mexican circus, which was shortlisted for the 1993 Thomas Cook Travel Book Award, and Dreams of the Peaceful Dragon, about a journey on horseback through the forbidden Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. She was shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young British Writer of the Year award for her novel The Quetzal Summer. Katie Hickman lives in London with her two children and her husband, the philosopher A.C. Grayling.

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    Reviews for The Aviary Gate

    3.5/5

    36 ratings35 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Set in the Sultan’s harem in Constantinople in 1599, The Aviary Gate is the story of Celia Lamprey, and Englishwoman sold into slavery after a shipwreck. For two years, her fiancée, Paul Pindar (a secretary to the ambassador) has believed Celia to be dead—until a chance encounter gives him proof that she’s still alive. Celia and Paul’s story is intertwined with that of Elizabeth Staveley, an Oxford DPhil candidate, who investigates Celia’s story in modern-day Istanbul.Celia’s story is the strongest part of the novel; Elizabeth’s isn’t quite as fleshed out. Maybe it’s because Elizabeth has an almost cold, detached view of her research subject. I also thought that Elizabeth’s romance story line wasn’t well-thought-out, and the emotionally unavailable ex boyfriend gratuitously thrown in there. Maybe he’s a foil for Celia’s fiancée, Paul, in the past? The ending of the novel was a bit strange, too: we’re told what happens, rather than shown. But maybe it’s best to leave that kind of thing to the imagination?But as I have said, Celia’s story is the best part of the novel, as are the descriptions of life in the harem. This is exactly the kind of novel that inspires the imagination: you can almost smell the scent of jasmine in the air. I love exotic settings such as that of The Aviary gate, and this book doesn’t disappoint in the least. There’s a healthy mixture here of romance, or danger and intrigue, that I enjoyed very much—Celia never quite knows who she can trust, especially not the Valide Sultan (mother of the sultan) or the Haseki. The characters are well-drawn, and the historical setting seems well-researched and believable. I don’t know very much about the Ottoman empire, but I was both entertained and educated by this novel (for example, I didn’t know that none of the women of the harem were actually Turkish, or that the sultan never married).
    • 3/5
      I had a hard time getting into this book. I allowed myself 100 pages, twice as many as I typically give a book, and the book almost didn't make the cut. However, right around 100 pages, the book picked up. In fact, for the last 200 or so pages, I had a hard time putting it down. Unfortunately, I found the ending unsatisfying. At the same time, though, I feel like it was the appropriate ending for the book.
    • 4/5
      The Aviary Gate by Katie Hickman is a work of historical fiction to be savored, with certain passages being re-read to ensure complete understanding and total enjoyment. It is not an overwhelming ponderous tome, yet at the same time the character list, glossary, and map of the harem will be quite helpful to anyone not familiar with Constantinople in the year 1599. The story begins with Paul Pindar, a secretary to the English ambassador. He believes that he has lost his true love, Celia in a shipwreck. Two years later he is informed that Celia has been spotted among the slaves in the Sultan’s harem. He needs to find a way to be sure. It is also a big question of this story of whether they can be re-united again. All this takes place concurrently with a rebellion in the Sultan’s palace.I liked the fact that you had to play your cards very carefully as there were spies everywhere. The penalty for going against the Sultan’s rules is that you are sewn in a burlap sack and thrown in the Bosphorous River and shots are fired alerting the palace that a traitor has been dealt with. It felt as if I was skulking around the Sultan’s palace with Celia just waiting for a big greasy eunuch to clamp his hands on my shoulders. The descriptions of the palace, clothes and jewels also kept my attention. What is the Aviary Gate? You’ll find out when you read the book, but it is key. The literary search taking place in Oxford and modern day Constantinople wraps the threads of this story in a cocoon of knowledge. So it is like a candy, knowledge on the outside and a delicious mix of love and intrigue on the inside. This is a book with a little bit of zest, and it stands up for itself as it defies your expectations. It almost dares you for a re-read. I would recommend this book for anyone who takes theirs with a bit of panache.
    • 3/5
      sigh. i really wanted to like this book of two parallel love affairs - one from the 16th century and the other present day. it had all the right elements...meticulously researched, nicely written, desperate lovers, and a harem? wow...now maybe i could learn something! but it just didn't click for me. i never connected with celia, the young englishwoman sold into slavery after surviving a shipwreck, and paul, her merchantman betrothed, even less. never felt the love, esp. since they do not share one scene in the novel. i was confused by the many characters in the harem - who seemed to all be named the same; in fact, few of the characters in the book are fully realized, save elizabeth, our present day (and sad sack) graduate student. it was just a big "eh" for me. i spent a good part of the novel confused about who was who and who was spying on whom and i reached a point where i just didn't care. i feel guilty about that...but am not sure why. and for a book about a harem, i didn't get why 1) there was rarely any sex (not that there's anything wrong with that!;) and 2) our heroine, celia, is only summoned once!
    • 4/5
      A story that takes place in both the present day where a student is researching her doctoral thesis and 1599 where a young girl on her way to be married is captured and sold into slavery as part of the Sultan's harem. The present day story tells of a woman's obsession with a man and how she purges him from her life while researching her paper. The story from the past tells of a love that never dies even though the lovers cannot be together. The book was a little slow getting started, but then I couldn't put it down. I would recommend this book, especially if you like historical fiction.
    • 4/5
      The Aviary Gate alternates between the story of a graduate student in the present day and the story of the subject of her research, an Englishwoman woman sold into slavery in the harem of the sultan in 1599. I am a fan of this type of literary device and was reminded a bit of Possession and The French Lieutenant's Woman. Having recently traveled to Istanbul and the Topkapi Palace the book came alive for me. I enjoyed the author's interweaving of fictional and historical characters, however the 16th century portions were much more compelling than the present day plot, which could have been eliminated with no detriment to the novel.
    • 3/5
      I ended up reading this book after reading the sequel, The Pindar Diamond. As it turns out, I enjoyed the second book a bit more. In this story, we get the start of Celia and Annetta's lives in the harem of the Sultan after their shipwreck, as well as a peek into the life of Elizabeth, an English philosophy student in modern times who is researching the life of Celia. When the story was following Celia and Annetta and their lives in the harem, it was compelling, interesting, and fast paced. I couldn't get enough about their exotic lives and the inner workings of the harem women. However, the chapters about Elizabeth were an annoying interruption. I didn't care about her character, in fact, she annoyed me. Mostly she was around to give us historical clues about what may have happened to Celia, and then there was some boring story about Elizabeth's love life. I'm glad that Elizabeth's narrative didn't continue into the second book. Overall, it was a good read, if you ignore the few chapters that focus on Elizabeth.
    • 4/5
      The Aviary Gate is a novel set in both the present day and in 1599 Constantinopole. In many respects, this novel reminded me of The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane; a modern day academic researcher is trying to solve a mystery from the past. In this case, Elizabeth Stavely is trying to find out what happened to Celia, an English girl who was shipwrecked near the end of the sixteenth century.At first, I wasn't sure if I would like this novel. I found Elizabeth, from the present day narrative, a little exasperating. Her obsession with her playboy lover Marius was irritating. I think that the novel would have been more powerful if it solely focused on the historical aspects.That being said, I was immersed in the world of the harem that Hickman conveyed. The politics, intrigue, and emotional lives of the women was powerful. I found myself cheering for Celia and found her to be a sympathetic and more engaging character than Elizabeth.Recommended, if for the historical aspect alone.
    • 4/5
      In 1599, an English merchantman prepares to present the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire with the ultimae gift in an attempt to secure a favorable trade agreement. In the Sultan's harem, intrigue abounds and seems to be settling around Celia, a young Englishwoman captured from her father's ship. She left behind a fiancee who, for the last two years, believed her to be dead and who is part of the trading expedition. Little by little, they learn of each other's proximity and struggle to come to terms with their new realities. In the present day, a young graduate student from England flees to Turkey, both to escape an ill-fated relationship and to research the story of Celia after discovering a scrap referring to her existence. As these stories wind on towards their inevitable ends, the reader is drawn into the worlds of the characters, hoping for the best and fearing the worst.The strongest part of this novel is definitely the part set in 1599. Celia is an appealing character and the world of the harem is so filled with intrigue that it's almost impossible not to become invested in the fates of the characters. The very nature of the harem lends itself to deceit and Ms. Hickman does an excellent job of creating characters that leave the reader uncertain as to who is on what side. The modern day story was still interesting, though I found the main character's obsession with a man who is obviously no good a bit annoying. Still, we've all made poor decisions when it comes to affairs of the heart, so maybe I should cut her some slack. Still, it left me a little bit cold. Also, the random mystical throw-ins seemed a bit off to me, both because I found them silly and because they weren't really necessary to the plot. In truth, they seemed unnecessary and even at times took away from the atmosphere. The Aviary Gate is an entertaining story that, by the end, had me fairly invested in the characters. I was sincerely anxious as to Celia's fate and sad to see her story end. It has its flaws but it's still an enjoyable read and I would easily recommend it to someone looking for a light but detailed historical novel.
    • 3/5
      Spoilerish review:I really enjoyed the historical sections. Unfortunately, the modern day chapters just did not hold my interest. I felt they read a little too much like a romance novel, and by the end of the book I was skimming them to get back to the harem. The historical sections, though, were very well done. I felt the author did a good job of keeping a large cast of characters and intrigues straight and clear to the reader without giving away the secrets driving the plot. That said, I wish there had been more resolution to Celia's story. What happened to her is the main force driving the whole book, and, to me, the fact that Hickman never really answered that question was frustrating. I want to know what happened when she saw Paul at the gate. Did she marry? Did she ever get back to England? Overall, this was a solid read, but one that could have used more focus to make the modern story more interesting or to cut it all together.
    • 2/5
      Couldn't do it. This wasn't a bad book, just not for me.
    • 3/5
      This novel is in two segments. The main part of the story actually revolves around an English girl, Cecila, who is sold as a slave to a Sultan in Constantinople in 1599 after her father's trading ship is captured and he is killed. There is actually some interesting historical facts in this part of the novel as the author talks about the fate of young men who become Eunuchs in the Sultan's palace and the whole lifestyle and ways of the harem of that era. The story creates a backdrop of intrique and mystery surrounding the harem and the struggle for power within. You are in suspense reading about who could be responsible for the murders that occur over time. Cecila, longs for her English lover who is a merchant and Secretary to the English Ambassador. He believes that Cecila may have perished with her father. Then, weaved into the novel is present day Elizabeth who is a graduate student working on her thesis and is researching the life of Celia. I think Hickman could have left this whole section out as it was the least interesting of the book and was a repetition of the series of novels being written that copy the theme of the DaVinci Code. This theme of finding the answer to something that happened long ago or finding an ancient manuscript or jewel is getting old. To make matters worse, Elizabeth is stuck in an emotionally abusive relationship that she can't seem to shake off until - of course, she finds prince charming in Istanbul. (pretty trite). I have to say that the book did keep my interest but, except for the historical parts and the setting, it was not very original and somewhat disappointing.
    • 3/5
      This book had great elements. The problem comes where I connect more with Elizabeth, the researcher, because of her connection with people. Celia, the main character, seems to only have one real connection in the whole book. I understand that the point may be to get across how lonely being in a harem is, even with all the women around, but I still did not feel the connection even for the so called love she had for Paul. Paul was the man she was to marry before she was sold into slavery.I will say this, the story was a new subject for me. I enjoyed the twists and turns of the book. It really keeps you on your toes. And the extra love affairs of Elizabeth made it that much more interresting. Hear is my only question, was I the only one that thought for sure that there was going to be a story about Haddba?
    • 4/5
      Moving back and forth between the present and 16th century Turkey, this historical fiction revolves around the mystery of what happened to a young British woman lost at sea. PhD candidate Elizabeth pursues her hunch that Celia was rescued and sold to the sultan's harem, and she attempts to prove that she might have been reunited with her British fiancee, a wealthy merchant negotiating trades with the sultan. Full of palace intrigues and historic images of old Constantinople.
    • 3/5
      The book is set in the time of Queen Elizabeth I in the Ottoman Empire and current times. You become engrossed right away in whatever time period you are reading and when the scene abruptly changes to the alternate time period, you find yourself wishing it hadn't . The harem scenes are vivid and enthralling, making it quite easy to picture the surroundings and feelings of the slaves, concubines and eunichs. The only issue I have with this book is that the ending is quite abrupt and unsatisfying.
    • 4/5
      Katie Hickman's 'The Aviary Gate' is the bittersweet story of two sets of lovers: Celia and Paul, devoted lovers who are separated in 1599 when she is captured by Turks and sold into slavery, and modern day doctoral student Elizabeth and her faithless professor lover Marius.The two stories are skillfully interwoven as Elizabeth attempts to follow Celia's story while researching her dissertation. Meanwhile, in the past, Paul that learns that Celia survived the pirate attack that killed her father and is living in the sultan's harem. Both plots lines are occurring simultaneously in Istanbul for much of the novel.Life in the harem comes alive under Hickman's pen, and anintriguing array of characters is presented. Who is Celia to trust? Can she return to her former life? How changed is she? How strong is the love she and Paul share?Elizabeth's contemporary story is perhaps the weakest part of the novel. The author establishes at the onset that Marius is a faithless dog and that Elizabeth is suffering through her misplaced affections. Surely it's difficult for the reader not to say - Ditch Him! Get On With It!'The Aviary Gate' is an interesting book - the subject and historical background are compelling. The theme - the nature and endurance of love - is equally compelling. And the majority of the characters are well realized. Points off, however, for the dreary Elizabeth-Marius affair.
    • 3/5
      Well, I tried to like this book. I really tried. But I found it full of cliches and characters about whom, for the most part, I just didn't care. Elizabeth, the grad student, was particularly whiney, pathetic, and unlikeable (not to mention that the "formula" of a grad student making an important discovery has been done to death since Possession). Most of the negatives have been listed below. There's just too much going on, too many stories, most of them not very interesting and most of them left hanging. The novel is awash with Eastern stereotypes (the sly eunuch, the jealous favored wife, the aging concubine, etc.). Once you get a picture of what goes on in the harem (mostly the women bathing, plucking, and perfuming in preparation for a possible evening with the sultan), you don't really need to hear it over and over again.
    • 3/5
      As others have noted there is a lot going on in this book. There's our modern day narrator/historian/grad student Elizabeth Staveley who stumbles upon a clue that leads her to look back 400 years for the truth about what happened to a ship-wrecked girl presumed dead who has been taken in to the harem of the Sultan of Constinople, there's the storyline of said girl, Celia Lamprey, who attempts to maneuver her way through the political intrigues of a concubine in training including the machinations of the Sultan's mother and his favorite concubine, Celia's fiancé, a "merchant-turned-diplomat" who is unaware that she has survived as well as a talented astronomer, a number of powerful eunuchs and a plot advancing ship spun of sugar. I liked the book. As I have seen written by other reviewers, I was more intrigued by Celia and the innerworkings of the Sultan's harem (which, in truth, was what drew me to the book in the first place) and could have done without the modern day ties and narrative driven by Elizabeth that just seemed to distract from the much more rich and certainly complex world of politics in 1599 Constantinople.
    • 3/5
      A really unsatisying read: the split narrative (surely an overworn idea, especially since the modern-day heroine always seems dreadfully self-obsessed in these things: see Kate Mosse's awful Labyrinth for a useful comparison with the dreary Elizabeth) just drags the story down. Any supposedly intelligent woman who falls for a leather-trousered academic who texts "Where u baby?" deserves all she gets, frankly. As for the section in the harem, Celia is barely sketched and just seemed slightly dim and far too passive, the overly-complex powerplay between the Valide and the Hasecki was just yawnsome and the resolution left me with a feeling of "so what?".Some nice bits of historical interest (the Valide's backstory, the clock, Pindar's cook Carew, the astronomer) but far too padded out with unnecessary waffle, particularly in the first half of the book. A firmer hand editing, the excision of the modern-day framing device (Marius as modern-day harem owner, yeah, we get it) and some character injected into the bloodless Celia and this would have been a much better novel.
    • 3/5
      When I was younger, harems intrigued me and enough of that fascination is left for me to pick up books like the Aviary Gate from time to time and immerse myself in the world of scheming women who are focused on a single man (and my inner feminist dies a little each time). This book makes for a compelling enough tale, caught between the present day world and a 16th-century Ottoman harem as a modern historian attempts to track down a English girl who may have ended up in the sultan's harem. Fun reading, although the ending left too many loose ends for sanctification.
    • 3/5
      ““There was one woman among them who was different from the rest. I noticed her because she was so fair, She seemed a little older that the others and more richly dressed, with jewels at her ears and on her breast. But it was her skin, white and luminous as the moon. John took my arm and I heard him say, ‘God help us, Tom. It’s Celia. Celia Lamprey’.” It is 1599, in Constantinople, when John Pindar discovers his fiancée, Celia Lamprey, who he thought had drowned at sea, is still alive and has been sold into slavery into the Sultan’s harem. Can he rescue her from this terrible fate? Meanwhile Celia gets caught up in the attempted murder of the Sultan’s Chief Eunuch and finds herself in even more danger. The narrator from the present day, Elizabeth, a PhD student working on her thesis, travels to Istanbul to uncover the truth from the past. Kate Hickman painstakingly reconstructs what women’s lives were like having to endure a life who’s only purpose is to please the Sultan. The rituals she describes, especially when Celia has to get ready to go see him for the first time, were fascinating. I was on edge to discover what Celia’s fate would be. This novel has it all, mystery, love, and adventure, all wrapped up in a historical fiction setting. I highly recommend opening the Aviary Gate.
    • 3/5
      Takes place in present day and back in 1599 in Constantinople in a harem. A present day researchers comes across a reference to a british girl,Celia lamprey and her being a concubine. Elizabeth is fascinated to find out what became of this girl.Sounds really interesting doesn't it/ It was good. It was not great.
    • 3/5
      Is a novel that foud the way to connect two centuries with an uncommon story of love, hate and intrigues that separate a young woman from her lover.Reading this novel you find yourself catapulted to a world that we could never fully understand and that is so different from nowadays.
    • 4/5
      Life in an Ottoman harem.This received quite mixed reviews on Amazon UK, and I had reservations when I began reading. Fortunately I was pleasantly surprised and found it a very enjoyable read with plenty of historical interest and atmospheric descriptions.There are two time frames used in the novel; the current day story of historical researcher, Elizabeth Staveley, is used as a tool to provide the background to the more interesting historical section. Elizabeth finds a fragment of a manuscript suggesting that Celia, an English girl, may have been ship-wrecked by pirates at the end of the sixteenth century and subsequently sold into the harem of Sultan Mehmet III of Constantinople (now Istanbul). The novel follows a few months in Celia's life in 1599. Having been bought by the Sultan's favourite concubine, as a gift for her mother-in-law, we follow Celia's rise within the harem and the intrigue and sceming that goes on within those walls.Paul Pindar is her fiance and assumes her drowned in the ship-wreck, until his cook, John Carew, chances to see her while visiting in the palace. Both the historical and the modern time frames then follow these characters in a search for the outcome of this love match. Did Paul manage to rescue Celia from the harem? What were their ultimate fates?While parts of this novel were excellent (such as the description of the gelding of a young boy so that he might become a much prized eunuch), other parts were less well written. The modern story, in particular, had a rather chick-lit feel to it.In discussion, our book group hilighted many incidences of dubious behaviour or inconsistencies, and I have to admit that these criticisms were valid. Some of these instances did detract from my reading, but mostly my enjoyment of the novel allowed me to ignore them. I did find the ending a bit weak though.Paul Pindar and John Carew also feature in Hickman's latest novel, The Pindar Diamond, set in Venice, and I look forward to reading this in the near future.
    • 4/5
      Elizabeth Staveley is a graduate student with a somewhat fractured love life. Her current research project uncovers a story from Constantinople in 1599 where English merchant Paul Pindar discovers that his betrothed, Celia Lamprey, whom he thought dead in a shipwreck, is living in the enclosed Harem of the Sultan. Elizabeth travels to Istanbul to pursue the story, and take a break from her unfaithful lover, in her quest to discover the fates of Paul and Celia. Elizabeth's story is intertwined with the ancient story of Celia living in the Harem and her discovery of the merchants who traveled to Constantinople with a gift for the Sultan - an exquisite musical clock. Since the clock was damaged in transit, the traders must spend extended time in the city and with a forbidden peek into the women's quarters, Paul is alerted to Celia's presence there. Celia longs to break free, however, she is trapped as a pawn amid the power struggles between the concubines, the Haseki (the Sultan's favorite) and the Valide (the Sultan's mother). Her every move is watched, her every word reported and Paul seems as lost to her as if she had died in a watery grave. The Aviary Gate is a captivating and richly detailed combination of historical and modern day fiction. The stories of Elizabeth and Celia are expertly intertwined as both heroines relentlessly seek knowledge, as well as freedom and of course, love. The sights, scents, and sounds of Constantinople come alive with Katie Hickman's descriptive prose and the reader is offered a rare glimpse into life in the Sultan's harem as well as the world of the merchants from England. The characters are expertly crafted, and like Celia, the reader is bound to be caught up in their drama, never knowing who to fully trust. Overall, this was a highly intriguing and well written book.
    • 4/5
      The Aviary Gate by Katie Hickman expertly weaves between the present day and sixteenth -century Constantinople.In Oxford, Elizabeth Stavely, a PhD student, is researching material for her thesis on captivity narratives. She finds a fragile, ancient parchment the amber color of old tea. The parchment tells of Celia Lamprey, who was presumed drowned in a shipwreck, but who was actually taken captive by Turkish pirates and sold into slavery in the Sultan's harem. Elizabeth is determined to find out more about the captivity of Celia Lamprey. Elizabeth is experiencing upheaval in her personal love life and impulsively leaves her life in Oxford behind and flies to Istanbul to pursue further research into the story of Celia's life.The book moves between the exotic, secluded and dangerous world of the harem with its secrets and intrigue, fabulous clothing and jewels, Byzantine customs and rules, intense relationships and Elizabeth's struggle to define herself.I really enjoyed this book. The characters were well crafted and compelling. Katie Hickman's description of ancient Constantinople makes you feel that you can experience it today in all of its complexity. The book is very well written and a pleasure to read.
    • 3/5
      I am finding it hard to write this review. On the one hand, this book uses a lot of Orientalism cliches, as many of the other reviewers have already mentioned. Scheming concubines, erotic arts, dealings in sorcery, etc. The present day narrative was also just meh, although it did feature descriptions of Istanbul that renewed my fascination with visiting the city. The books also had nicely drawn characters (Jamal for example) that didn't really go anywhere. I also wish she had spent more time talking about the Three Nightingales and their combined backstory. The rest of the mystery would have made more sense and I would have cared about them. With all of that said, however, I could not stop reading this book. In fact, I found myself sneaking reads of the book while at a professional conference during a boring presentation. She wrote the pacing and the descriptions of the palace well, and there was tension and anxiety build-up. So, all in all, an engrossing historical fiction read, with a few problems, that apparently did not detract from me devouring the book.
    • 4/5
      The Aviary Gate is a story of two romances. One takes place in ancient Constantinople, the other takes place in present day Istanbul. Elizabeth Staveley is our modern day heroine who stumbles across part of a letter detailing the story of Celia Lamprey, a young woman who was captured and sold into slavery. The story alternates between Elizabeth's trip to Istanbul (taken to further research Celia's story), and Celia's adventures in the sultan's harem in Constantinople. Overall I found both stories very interesting and entertaining.
    • 4/5
      Having been a recent visitor to Istanbul's Topkapi Palace and its harem, I particularly enjoyed reading Hickman's story about Celia, a young Englishwoman taken captive in the sultan's harem in the late sixteenth century.Hickman deftly weaves together a story that takes us inside the cloistered and scheming world of the sultan's women, the intrigue of the European envoys vying for lucrative trade deals with Constantinople, and the modern world of Oxford and Istanbul as lived in by a 20-something female PhD student who is trying to unravel the mystery of whether Celia ever made it out of the harem and back into the arms of her fiancee, a wealthy English merchant sent to Istanbul by Queen Elizabeth I.This book is a mix of mystery, historical fiction, and romance (both historical and modern) and was great fun to read.
    • 5/5
      There's a lot of romance wrapped up in Katie Hickman's novel, The Aviary Gate. Celia, the daughter of an English ship captain, is shipwrecked on the eve of her marriage and sold into the Sultan's harem. She finds out that her former fiance, Paul, is now stationed near her in Constantinople. Elizabeth is a modern-day Englishwoman, researching her dissertation on English captivity stories. She comes across a fragment of a manuscript about Celia and runs off to Istanbul to track it down...and to escape a bad boyfriend.Celia's story is the stronger of the two - the descriptions of harem life are lush and full of detail, the mystery at the heart of her story really fascinating. Plenty of twists and turns; everyone is out for themselves and no one can be trusted.Elizabeth's story is a little more pedestrian. She is involved in a bad love affair and uses the excuse of her research to flee to Istanbul (a fabulous spot for an escape). Hickman tries to imbue her story with a few mystical touches: the man she meets in Instanbul bears the same name as Celia's sultan, Elizabeth has visions during a visit to the harem, she hears voices while dealing with her old boyfriend, she seems to intuit Celia's story as much as she researches it. While Celia's story could easily stand alone as a novel, Elizabeth's surely could not. Still, with Celia's story as the focal point, it moves along quickly and keeps us grounded in the present day.All in all, a very good read. Definitely a woman's book (too much romance for most men, I think) but not "chick-lit" by any means.