Istanbul/Constantinople/Byzantium
ConversazioniThe City and the Book
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1Ardashir
'The City of the World's Desire' must be the setting for many interesting stories. I have not yet been there, but look forward to it.
A Short History of Byzantium by John Julius Norwich is great background reading, of course, although the more adventurous might go for his full, three-volume work.
On my shelf I have several books set in this city:
Istanbul by Orhan Pamuk (not a novel, but a memoir)
The Black Book, also by Pamuk, whose fabulous My Name Is Red was also set in Istanbul
The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin, who has also written a couple of sequels, The Snake Stone and The Bellini Card
The Sarantine Mosaic novels (Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors) by Guy Gavriel Kay, fantasy novels set in a thinly disguised version of Byzantium
Count Belisarius by Robert Graves
One of my personal favourites is the Finnish author Mika Waltari who wrote a couple of novels set in Constantinople/Istanbul:
The Dark Angel, set during the Fall of Constantinople in 1453
The Wanderer, the second of two novels (following The Adventurer) about the 16th century Finnish-born adventurer Mikael Ludenfot.
I guess there are many interesting Greek and Turkish novels set in the great city as well.
A Short History of Byzantium by John Julius Norwich is great background reading, of course, although the more adventurous might go for his full, three-volume work.
On my shelf I have several books set in this city:
Istanbul by Orhan Pamuk (not a novel, but a memoir)
The Black Book, also by Pamuk, whose fabulous My Name Is Red was also set in Istanbul
The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin, who has also written a couple of sequels, The Snake Stone and The Bellini Card
The Sarantine Mosaic novels (Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors) by Guy Gavriel Kay, fantasy novels set in a thinly disguised version of Byzantium
Count Belisarius by Robert Graves
One of my personal favourites is the Finnish author Mika Waltari who wrote a couple of novels set in Constantinople/Istanbul:
The Dark Angel, set during the Fall of Constantinople in 1453
The Wanderer, the second of two novels (following The Adventurer) about the 16th century Finnish-born adventurer Mikael Ludenfot.
I guess there are many interesting Greek and Turkish novels set in the great city as well.
2anglemark
Ian McDonald's The Dervish House is set in Istanbul and full of local colour that resonates well with my impression after having stayed there for a week in 2004.
3thorold
I'd recommend Philip Mansel's book Constantinople: City of the World's Desire, 1453-1924 - as you say, going there yourself is essential: it's a great place to visit. The fall of Constantinople by Steven Runciman is another classic for people who like narrative history.
Stamboul train and Travels with my aunt (Graham Greene) aren't really about the city, more about the idea of it. Murder on the Orient Express is a boring (in my opinion) but very famous book written in the Pera Palace Hotel.
The Istanbul bit of Byron's Don Juan is full of fascinating but possibly misleading information about harems, cross-dressing and dinner bells ("Turkey contains no bells, and yet men dine").
The late Paddy Leigh Fermor's books A time of gifts and Between the woods and the water are about walking from Holland to Istanbul but, as far as we know, he never actually finished the third part, in which he gets there.
By chance, I'm just reading L'usage du monde (The Way of the World) by the Swiss writer Nicolas Bouvier, and reached the Istanbul chapter on the bus this morning. I don't know how much he has to say about the city yet...
Stamboul train and Travels with my aunt (Graham Greene) aren't really about the city, more about the idea of it. Murder on the Orient Express is a boring (in my opinion) but very famous book written in the Pera Palace Hotel.
The Istanbul bit of Byron's Don Juan is full of fascinating but possibly misleading information about harems, cross-dressing and dinner bells ("Turkey contains no bells, and yet men dine").
The late Paddy Leigh Fermor's books A time of gifts and Between the woods and the water are about walking from Holland to Istanbul but, as far as we know, he never actually finished the third part, in which he gets there.
By chance, I'm just reading L'usage du monde (The Way of the World) by the Swiss writer Nicolas Bouvier, and reached the Istanbul chapter on the bus this morning. I don't know how much he has to say about the city yet...
4PossMan
An alternative to John Julius Norwich's books is Byzantium by Judith Herrin which I found quite useful for the historical background.
