Portrait of a Turkish Family - Irfan Orga

"A Portrait of a Turkish Family" is an autobiographical work that tells the story of one Ottoman family from the turn of the twentieth century through the First World War and the establishment of Turkey as a republic. Irfan Orga was the eldest of three children; his mother was born into the harem - as were most women of such standing - and married at the age of thirteen. When the book opens, Irfan and his parents and younger brother live with his paternal grandparents and a host of servants. Orga describes an often idyllic childhood with warmth and humour, depicting the childlike vigour of his mother, the haughtiness of his grandmother and the ...  Read the complete review