Praise for Harem: The World Behind the Veil: "This is a serious history, yet an immensely readable one
informative, gossipy, and grand fun."
New York Times Book Review "This beautiful book...stimulates the mind as well as the eye."
Chicago Sun-Times "A book of breathtaking beauty, lavishly illustrated with color plates and written in an ingratiating prose."
Washington Post "An alluring ... Read moreinvitation into the labyrinthine corridors of the Turkish harem."
San Francisco Chronicle "A delight to the eye but also a poignant statement about the lonely...world of women who lived in virtual slavery."
Marin Independent Journal "Croutier's text, a blend of careful scholarship and gossipy family anecdotes, is richly embellished with documentary photographs and colorful 'Orientalist' artwork, depicting harem life."
Christian Science Monitor "A gorgeous book that chronicles, in equal measure, the grisly realities of seraglio life and the glowing fictions of Western voyeurism."
Connoisseur "A fascinating, colorfully illustrated history of one of humanity's most bizarre constructs."
People "An intriguing text about those all-female worlds in the mysterious East.
Cosmopolitan "Ms. Croutier has produced an interesting book, an intelligent speculation on the social and psychological influences of this creation."
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