 Portrait of a Turkish Family
Irfan Orga Pages: 332
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 0 907871 82 8
Area of interest: Turkey
Genre: Autobiography, Islamic Interest Date of first publication: 1950
Eland publication date: January 1, 2000
Price: £12.99
Irfan Orga was born into a prosperous family in the twilight of the Ottoman Empire. His mother was a beauty, married at thirteen, who lived in the seclusion of a harem, as befitted a Turkish woman of her class. His grandmother was an eccentric autocrat, determined at all costs to maintain her traditional habits.
But the First World War changed everything. Death and financial disaster reigned, the Sultan was overthrown and Turkey became a republic. The family was forced to adapt to an unimaginably impoverished life. In 1941 Irfan Orga arrived in London, and seven years later he wrote this extraordinary story of his family's survival.
biography of Irfan Orga
extract from Portrait of a Turkish Family
"This book is a little masterpiece."
Robert Fox, Daily Telegraph
"It is just as though someone had opened a door marked ‘Private' and showed you what was inside…A most interesting and affectionate book."
Sir John Betjeman
"This is an almost painfully honest portrait, painted warts and all. It is compelling reading, beautifully written, and full of insights into both ancient traditions and the changes brought about by war and revolution."
Sue Earle, Bloomsbury Book Guide
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