Very Good Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928) Contemporary 1/3 leather bdg. made as original illustrated covers preserved inside. Foolscap 8vo. (18 x 12 cm). In Ottoman script (Old Turkish with Arabic letters). 221 p.; 291 p. Fourth Edition (both). Early editions of this bestseller novel(s) telling "the suffering of a woman who buried her forbidden love in her heart in a society where love is closed behind thick curtains, through the eyes of a woman", by Güzide Sabri (1886-1946). Güzide Sabri Aygün was a Turkish female writer known for her modern romances, which were published in multiple editions and several languages. She had two sisters, Fatma Aliye and Emine Semiye. She grew up in Çamlica neighborhood of Istanbul. In later years, she had to leave Istanbul and move to Anatolia with her family as her father was exiled, resulting from his opposition to the despotism of Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II (reigned 1876-1909). At a young age, she was married to Ahmet Sabri Aygün, the first notary of Beyoglu (Pera). She was educated at home by special tutors. She was interested in literature, inspired by her teacher Hodja Tahir Effendi, a dictionary writer. She started to write at a very young age. However, her teachers proposed she better deal with religious matters instead of poetry. Contrary to the pressures of her literature teacher, she wrote her first novel Münevver in her youth years in 1899. She wrote the novel in remembrance of her friend, who died from tuberculosis. It was serialized in the newspaper Hanimlara Mahsus ("For Ladies"), and won well recognition. In 1901, two years later, the novel was published as a book and was also translated into the Serbian language. Her husband felt discomfort by his wife's prominence. As her teachers' reaction was not enough, her husband also objected to her writing. However, her enthusiasm could not deter her from writing. It is understood that her husband tried to prevent her writing as he did not allow her to write already at the wedding. She was forced to continue writing at night or secretly. After a short time, her husband died. The unexpected death of her husband left deep traces in her. Güzide Sabri became a female writer, who remained lifelong unhappy having a sad life in literature history. During this time, the Servet-i Fünun ("Wealth of Knowledge") movement, formed by Recaizâde Mahmud Ekrem (1847-1914) and his students, left its mark on the literature. Güzide Sabri was one of the authors, who did not join the movement and remained on their own line. She is considered as one of the first female novelists among Turkish writers with widespread fame, even though she was not involved in the new literary movement. She published her works in the Servet-i Fünun and other journals of the "National Literature" without being a member of any literary community. Her novels, which were written in the early years of the Second Constitutional Era (1908-1918) and the Republican era (from 1922), and were subject of feeling, dream, blind love, and broken hearts, were very popular, and had multiple editions and were repeatedly filmed. Her second novel Ölmüs Bir Kadinin Evrak-i Metrûkesi ("Derelict Documents of a Dead For Woman") was a bestseller. It was first published in 1901, reprinted several times, and was filmed twice, in 1956 and then in 1969. The novel was translated into the Armenian language. She authored romance novels for simple readers. She is considered as the author writing the first examples of the so-called mass-market romance novels, and pioneer of the broken-hearts novels in her country. Her 1930-novel Hicran Gecesi ("Night of Sorrow") is about the forbidden love of a bad woman. This book takes the romance novel one step forward in a forbidden, impossible love story. Her novels, which take place in Istanbul, attracted the interest of readers outside of big cities like Istanbul and Izmir as well. First book: Özege 16077 (Özege has 4th edition, however page number: 221).; TBTK 5323.; Second one: Özege 15317.; TBTK 5
