The Turkish Embassy Letters (Broadview Editions) Paperback – Illustrated, September 20, 2012

A fantastic read. Lady Mary's letters illustrate the middle-east of the past through the lens of the west and highlights the differences between the cultures.

Delivery great, book as described

Smooth transaction, on-time delivery, nice book. I recommend this book highly to everyone who would like to learn about Istanbul, Turks, Turkish culture and Ottoman Empire and its culture.

It's a mind blowing book. How beautiful is to get to know the life style of Ottoman Turks in Istanbul via the famous letters of an English woman...

What a very clever and interesting book - that is, for those who are interested in early eighteenth century English customs and the Ottoman empire. Lady Mary was an English aristocrat who travelled to Constantinople in 1716 with her husband, Edward, who had been appointed Ambassador to the Turkish court in order to try to broker a peace deal between it and the Viennese court of the Habsburgs. He failed in this mission but, as a result of it, later generations of readers were treated to his wife’s observations of a culture that was so foreign to her own. In her letters to her friends and family back home, she enlightened them on subjects such as the treatment of Jews in the Turkish empire (they were a very powerful element in it); the brutal attitude shown by the Turkish army to the common people, who were often left destitute after soldiers had been through their lands; the position of women in Turkish society; and the wonders of Turkish architecture, so utterly different from that in her own country. She chose her topics according to whom she was writing to. When communicating with the poet, Alexander Pope, she regaled him with lengthy quotes from Arabian poetry. When writing to a clergyman, she explained to him the religious beliefs and rituals practiced in Turkey. And, when writing to her female friends, she took great pains to describe the clothes and hair styles of the local women. In fact, one of the subjects she dwells on the most in the Letters is the women she met. She gives lengthy descriptions of the public baths that women used as meeting places, of her visits to various harems, and her attendance at an all-women pre-marriage ceremony conducted in a public bath. She describes her meetings with the wives of sultans and other great Turkish leaders, and is positively glowing with praise for their great beauty and poise. The male readers’ imaginations will be set alight by her narratives! What makes the book so interesting, though, is that Lady Mary also gives her thoughtful opinions on what it is she is observing, whether it is the wearing of the veil, or her view of the practice of war, regularly indulged in by the Turks. In places, the lengthy sentences indulged in by eighteenth century writers can seem grossly overstated to our modern eye, but that is the only jarring note in what was, after all, penned three hundred years ago.It is obvious, reading the book, that Lady Mary was, at heart, an ardent romanticist. It is no wonder, then, that some years after her return to stuffy old England, she left again and spent most of the rest of her life in Italy and France. Just under two years spent under the Turkish sun had a profound effect on her. I would venture to say she was never the same woman again, and it’s a great pleasure to read about the influences which shaped that process.

Lady M.W.M. was a great letter writer, and though it's not fashionable to say so, I much prefer her to Mme de Sevigne, whose letters are in essence one long hysterical cry to her daughter, You never write, you never call. Per contra, Lady MWM is common-sensical, less needlessly poetic, but with the sharp, discerning eye of a spy. That is, she is a real writer. I only wish I could read her letters that were burnt, thrown away, locked up, and otherwise held away from us, because they were too much of a muchness. Were they explicit? Or were they merely telling 300 y/old secrets? No one knows, and those who do, aren't telling. But even the letters that survived are a dilly. You feel you are almost there. Good stuff, this.

Thank you for your prompt service and well represented product.

A collection of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu's collection of letters to various friends as she travels through Europe to Turkey in 1716 to join her husband a newly appointed Ambassador. Women, by and large were freer and more liberated at that period in time, particularly in Austria and Turkey. It is an eye opener. Her letters are vivid and descriptive and comes from the pen of a liberated woman addressed to largely liberated educated lady friends.

fast delivery.Excellent travel writing, before it's time.The accounts of travels told through letters to family, friends and royalty is engrossing and kept my attention.Language has been kept to its original form which is excellent and a great tool for anyone wishing to improve their English linguistics.

Bought for my daughters English literature course at uni

Thank you

Lady Mary Wortley Montagu -- what's not to love?