Morocco, 1677.

The tyrannical King Ismail resides over the palace of Meknes. Through the sweltering heat of the palace streets, Nus Nus, slave to the King and forced into his live of servitude as court scribe, is sent to the apothecary. There he discovers the bloody corpse of the herb man, and becomes entangled in a plot to frame him for the murder. Juggling the tempestuous Moroccan king, sorceress queen Zidana and the malicious Grand Vizier is his only hope to escape the blame.

Meanwhile, young, fair Alys Swann is captured during her crossing to England, where she is due to be wed. Sold into Ismail’s harem, she is forced to choose: renounce her faith or die.

An unlikely alliance develops between Alys and Nus Nus, one that will help them to survive the horrifying ordeals of the Moroccan court.

Brimming with rich historical detail and peppered with real characters, from Charles I to Samuel Pepys, The Sultan’s Wife is a story of enduring love and adventure.

Welcome to an exotic land where an eunuch called Nus-Nus (or half-half) tells a story of how life in the court was. How cruel and relentless his sultan was. The intrigues, the main wife Zidana mostly heralded. Her two spoiled brats in line for the throne. The poisonings. The deals in back-alleys. The amazing culture in the sand dunes which made me want to book a holiday there. The new wife – the Catholic apostate White Swan who is now a muslim.

Did you know that Sultans would not bed Christian Women? That he required them all to convert or die? Did you know that he liked his women big and fat and dark as the night? Did you know that he gave a ring to all of his male heirs?

I didn’t know many things and I feel like I’ve learned loads slowly going through this story. It took me a month to finish the book so I can say I really liked it. I enjoyed it like a stolen cube of sugar or a piece of Hershey’s chocolate. Sinful yet sweet and with such a lovely aftertaste.

I wanted to see a Harem. The half-naked preening women, gossiping with each other yet under the watchful eye of the main wife and the guards. Never free, never out. If you’ve watched 1000 years of longing, I think that’s what was playing mostly in my mind when the harem was discussed.