Nights of Plague

Turkish novelist and Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk’s upcoming novel is historical fiction set in 1901 during the third plague pandemic. The novel, which he has been working on for four years, will also include his drawings and hand-drawn maps, being his attempt at illustrating the world he is creating.

1901. Night draws in. With the stealth of a spy vessel, the royal ship Azizye approaches the famous vistas of Mingheria. ‘An emerald build of pink stone.’ The 29th state of the ailing Ottoman Empire. The ship carries Princess Pakize, the daughter of a deposed sultan, her doctor husband, and the Royal Chemist, Bonkowski Pasha. Each of them holds a separate mission. Not all of them will survive the weeks ahead. Because Mingheria is on the cusp of catastrophe. There are rumours of plague – rumours some in power will try to suppress. But plague is not the only killer. Soon, the eyes of the world will turn to this ancient island, where the future of a fragile empire is at stake, in an epic and playful mystery of passion, fear, scandal and murder, from one of history’s master storytellers.