The Fourth Queen: A Novel

By Debbie Taylor

Book Overview

A lush historical epic, "The Fourth Queen" is the story of one woman's struggle for power and love in the court of the eighteenth-century Emperor of Morocco. Poetically intense and sensual, it marks... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1400049253
• ISBN13: 9781400049257
• Release Date: November 2003
• Publisher: Crown Publishers
• Length: 345 Pages
• Weight: 1.33 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 1.3" x 6.4"

Customer Reviews

A great read!

This is the kind of book that lingers with you. I read it quite a while back but keep thinking about it. I am reading it again, on my Kindle this time. The characters are very memorable and the story is a good one. I recommend this book.

Beautifully written, vivid, heartbreaking

This is an exciting story about pirates, a harem, a dwarf, an emperor, lots of eunuchs, jewels, gardens, religion, beauty, ambition and poison. A dramatic story about a different world, where women are valued for their chubbiness and unibrows. Where men are, well, apparently most of them are nearly psychotic, but at least some of them have redeeming qualities. It is a wonderful book. The language is beautiful. The story is sad but gripping. There were plenty of plot twists, unexpected alliances, and treachery. The main characters are complex, for the most part neither good nor evil, but struggling to rise above situational ethics. I couldn't put this book down. It's the best things I've read in ages.

Unbelievably good historical fiction

It seems I only find really good books when I'm not looking for them, meaning of course, I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. The premise is fascinating, a Scottish teenager, Helen is captured by pirates while on her way to America in the 17th century. She is hand picked by the dwarf keeper of the Emperors harem, because the dwarf, Microphilus, knows the emperor like white women. Helen is pregnant, but its standard procedure to give women bound for the emperors Harem an abortion, since a hymen test may prove unreliable and of course, all women must be, or appear to be virgins. Helen adjusts to life in the harem quickly, helped out by Microphilus, who is also a Scot and introduces her to Queen Batoom, one of the Emperor's four wives, who helps her learn to "play sex" which all the women in the harem do. They wait for the Emperor to want to "play sex" with them. This is portrayed as well as anyone could do it, the author captures the desperation of the women waiting, the pride of the women chosen, and the disgust of Helen's at this system perfectly. Life in the Harem turns vicious once Helen captures the heart of the Emperor (and he hers, though she knows Microphilus is in love with her) and strange spiny things start turning up in Helen's rooms. Soon she falls ill, as other queens have done, with a wasting sickness. Someone is behind this, but who is it? It must be either a woman in the harem, or one of the eunuch guards. This book is romantic, exciting, mysterious and just dam great. Its one of the best books I've ever read and I can't wait for the author's next work. In fact, it may be a sequel to "the forth queen." The best thing about this story is it's mostly true, or based on truth. The Emperor of this book is the real man behind the king in "the king and I" and he had a Scottish redheaded wife who is credited with gentling him and making him more "western." Some reviewers complain that the character of Microphilus is taken from a real person who lived not in Helen's time, but honestly, this is a novel. It's fine to do things like that. That's why it's fiction. I recommend this book highly to everyone. If you're prudish though, you may not enjoy it. This book is very frank about sexuality and sex and quite violent. The time period though, was that way.

Excellent, fast paced read!

The Fourth Queen is a novel, based on a true story, about a Scottish woman captured by pirates and sold to harem of the Emporer of Morocco. Helen Gloag is running away from mistakes she made in her native Scotland but finds herself in a worse situation when she becomes the property of an Emporer. The story covers the first year or so that Helen is in the harem and includes stories of love, hate, jealousy and betrayal. I found this book to be hard to put down and it made me so appreciate the freedom I enjoy as a woman living in the U.S.

Impossible to put down!

The Fourth Queen is a real adventure from the first page--a great combination of the exotic, erotic and historical. Beautiful Helen, a redheaded Scottish girl, runs away from her family's peasant cottage to make a new life for herself. She winds up on a ship bound for America, where she thinks she will look for work as a servant. She does wind up as a servant, but not in a way she could have ever dreamed of! When the ship is taken by pirates, Helen winds up in Morocco, in the house of a madam who sells girls into the harems of the nobility. Helen is sold to a kind and gentlemanly dwarf named Fijil, who works for the emperor of Morocco. Fijil knows his master has a taste for pale skin and red hair, so Helen goes to live in the strange, decadent world of the harem. There she learns the skills of love, the delights of eating sweets all day, and also the ferocious politics of the harem, where women spend their entire lives jockeying for power. It's a beautiful place, but a dreadful one at the same time, and when the Emperor chooses Helen to be his fourth wife, Fijil fears for her life. The last Fourth Queen, also a white woman, died a terrible death, and he fears that Helen will too.There's a strong mystery element in this book that makes it so much more than just a romance or a historical saga. In addition, Debbie Taylor's writing is far better than most of what you find in your average historical novel. I wasn't able to put this book down until I found out what happened to Helen at the end. It really didn't disappoint!