Background To The Novel
Like Emma in the novel, The Past Tense Of Youth, I was Inspired by a day trip to Topkapi Palace Istanbul. When told by the tour guide that the upstairs bedrooms of the harem were off limits, I was terribly disappointed and my imagination ran wild. What if I climbed those stairs I wondered? Sadly, unlike Emma, I never got the chance to find out. The rest of the palace though was an absolute eye opener. I mean who knew that women had to wear very high clogs when going to the bathrooms? Yes we were allowed into the bathrooms. Miniature marble palaces in their own right. Even had chandaliers. The sleeping quarters of the young princes were also mind blowing. Dark wooden boxes in which they were shut away from all and sundry. This was to protect them from women, other than their mothers, who would kill them rather than let them become the next Sultan. The Harem quarters had many sections where the women could stroll the gardens and gather in sitting areas or lounges. They were allowed into the main section of the palace only on the reigning Sultan’s orders. They were watched over by eunuchs who had been fully castrated to prevent them trying anything. The Sultan’s favourite was given special treatment and could pick and choose who did what tasks inside the harem. It was similar with the Sultan’s mother who had absolute power and could decide the fate of the current favourite. No man could enter the harem and look at the women inside. Any who tried would be excecuted. They belonged to the Sultan and only he had the right to enter.
It was not until my second trip to Turkey and a second trip to the palace that the story for the novel came to me. I started writing notes whilst on a long trip to Bodrum, Turkey’s Mediterranean Coast. It all starts with Emma who actually does go up the forbidden stairs into the Harem quarters and finds herself drawn back in time.
Bourgeoise Bloomers 