Book of Hafsa – Chapter 10

Cariye

Liana is summoned into the private chambers of Şehzade Selim, expecting the fearsome warrior prince known throughout the frontier provinces. Instead, she encounters something few ever see: his tenderness and vulnerability.

As the two exchange improvised verses, Liana begins to realize that beneath Selim’s hardened exterior lies a man capable of deep affection and emotional surrender. For the first time, she also becomes aware of a different kind of power- not political power, but the influence a woman can hold over the heart of a man who is falling in love.

What unfolds between them is not merely passion, but the beginning of genuine love and attachment.

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.