This is a fictional tale based on the life of Aimee du Buc de Rivery, cousin to Josephine Bonaparte. Aimee was kidnapped by pirates at a young age and became a slave in the sultan's harem, where she was known as Nakshidil. Like the other inhabitants of the harem, Nakshidil spends most of her time engaged in intrigues, hoping to gain the sultan's favor, and to outwit her rival Aysha's schemes. While interesting, Seraglio fails to be engrossing and I felt the characters were not well developed or believable. I would suggest this book to anyone interested in historical fiction about the Ottoman Empire or life in the harem, but I cannot highly recommend it. ( )