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.
Review
"This book is a little masterpiece" Robert Fox, Daily Telegraph"This book is a little masterpiece" Robert Fox, Daily Telegraph"This book is a little masterpiece" Robert Fox, Daily TelegraphA wholly delightful book. --Harold NicolsonIt 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 BetjemanThis book is a little masterpiece --Robert Fox, Daily TelegraphA wholly delightful book. --Harold NicolsonIt 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 BetjemanA wholly delightful book. --Harold NicolsonIt 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 BetjemanA wholly delightful book. --Harold NicolsonIt 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 BetjemanA wholly delightful book. --Harold NicolsonIt 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 BetjemanA wholly delightful book. --Harold NicolsonIt 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
A wholly delightful book. --Harold Nicolson
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
About the Author
Irfan Orga was born into a rich Ottoman family which was decimated, financially and emotionally, by the First World War. He joined the Turkish Air Force but was forced into exile by a law forbidding members of the armed forces to marry foreigners. Living in England with his Anglo-Irish wife and their son Ates, he was largely supported by his wife, though the publication of Portrait of a Turkish Family and The Caravan Moves On made him a literary celebrity in the 1950s.
Description:
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.
Review
"This book is a little masterpiece" Robert Fox, Daily Telegraph"This book is a little masterpiece" Robert Fox, Daily Telegraph"This book is a little masterpiece" Robert Fox, Daily TelegraphA wholly delightful book. --Harold NicolsonIt 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 BetjemanThis book is a little masterpiece --Robert Fox, Daily TelegraphA wholly delightful book. --Harold NicolsonIt 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 BetjemanA wholly delightful book. --Harold NicolsonIt 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 BetjemanA wholly delightful book. --Harold NicolsonIt 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 BetjemanA wholly delightful book. --Harold NicolsonIt 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 BetjemanA wholly delightful book. --Harold NicolsonIt 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
A wholly delightful book. --Harold Nicolson
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
About the Author
Irfan Orga was born into a rich Ottoman family which was decimated, financially and emotionally, by the First World War. He joined the Turkish Air Force but was forced into exile by a law forbidding members of the armed forces to marry foreigners. Living in England with his Anglo-Irish wife and their son Ates, he was largely supported by his wife, though the publication of Portrait of a Turkish Family and The Caravan Moves On made him a literary celebrity in the 1950s.