The Palace Of Tears - Tapa blanda

'This is an enchanting tale of love: a man dreams of a woman, while she dreams of a man who is dreaming of her...Soft and poetic, like music in a Turkish garden'
ISABEL ALLENDE

On a golden autumn afternoon in Paris, Casimir de Châteauneuf, a successful vintner, wanders through the hollow arcades of the Palais Royal. He stops to browse in an Oriental shop, and past the hookahs, turbans and daggers his eyes are drawn to a miniature portrait of an enchanting woman, skin like ivory, with one eye blue and one yellow. That night, the painting by his bedside, Casimir dreams he is lost in a city of domes and slim minarets. Alone in a shadowy courtyard a woman sits sobbing, her tears filling an empty fountain.

A man possessed, Casimir abandons his wife, family, country, everything, to journey across the sea and desert in search of his vision, a journey that finally leads him to Constantinople. As East meets West, two people whose worlds are impossibly far apart are destined to meet and discover a love beyond even their wildest dreams.

'A tale of dreams, magic, forbidden passion and enchantment in 1860s Istanbul. Setting her story in this ancient city of mystery and secrets allows Croutier to explore the inexplicable rules of love with language as rich and evocative as frankincense. Each chapter glows like a precious jewel'
WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD

Alev Lytle Croutier is the author of the internationally acclaimed bestseller Harem: The World Behind the Veil and Taking the Waters. She was the founding editor and, for many years, editor-in-chief of Mercury House publishing company. Born in Turkey, she studied literature at Robert College in Istanbul and Art History at Oberlin College in the US. Later, she wrote and directed award winning films in Japan, Turkey, and Europe and the US. She was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship (the first ever for screenplay) for her work in Tell Me a Riddle. Alev Lytle Croutier divides her time between San Francisco and Paris.