Book of Hafsa – Chapter One

Book of Secrets

The Book of Hafsa is a historical fiction novel (by me) following the life of Hafsa Sultan, the consort of Selim I and the mother of Suleiman the Magnificent. Set during the rise of the Ottoman Empire, the story explores palace politics, dynastic paranoia, love, survival, and the hidden world of the imperial harem through Hafsa’s own eyes. In the opening chapter, set in Trabzon Palace in 1492, Hafsa begins writing in a journal gifted to her by Şehzade Selim himself.

Hafsa reflects on the dangers of palace life, the terrifying reality of raising princes within the Ottoman dynasty, and the quiet, calculating nature of Selim.