Constantinople 1920, the second book in Haig Tahta's
projected trilogy, chronicles the impending fall of
the Ottomans and explores the circumstances and
atmosphere of Constantinople during the British
occupation of the city from 1920 to 1922. It carries
forward the same characters from Mr. Tahta's first novel,
April 1915, set in the Ottoman Empire at a critical
moment following its fateful decision to join the Great
War in November 1914. Olga, an Armenian girl, and
Selim, a Turk, are impossibly in love. Their relationship,
much more difficult and problematic than Romeo and
Juliet, develops and unfolds during the Greco-Turkish
War, reaching its shocking climax in the burning of
Smyrna. An historical novel of deep insight and high
passions, Constantinople 1920 brings to focus a time
which echoed throughout the world and set in train
events that would engulf Europe in flames a few
decades later. Written with a rare sense of humanity
and peopled with a plethora of characters, bold,
sensitive, articulate and always fascinating,
Constantinople 1920 is that rare novel of ideas and
drama that appeals to both the heart and the intellect.