The Mapmaker's Daughter: A Novel

Katherine Nouri Hughes

Nov 2020 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Kirsten Potter

About this audiobook

A novel of the Venetian girl who became the most powerful woman in the Ottoman Empire-perfect for fans of Netflix's Magnificent Century. The Ottoman Empire was at the height of its power during the sixteenth century when Cecilia Baffo Veniero was kidnapped from her Venetian homeland and chosen to be the wife of Selim II, successor to Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. She would be known as Nurbanu. The Mapmaker's Daughter vividly imagines the confession of Nurbanu as she lies on her sickbed narrating the spectacular story of her rise to the pinnacle of imperial power, determined to understand how her extraordinary destiny was shaped. With unflinching candor, Nurbanu reviews the desires and motives that have both propelled and harmed her, as she considers her role as a devoted yet manipulative mother, helping to orchestrate her son's succession to the throne. Serving as the appointed enforcer of one of the empire's most crucial and shocking laws, Nurbanu confronts the consequences of her loves and her choices-right up to one last shattering revelation.

About the author

Katherine Nouri Hughes is an Iraqi-Irish speechwriter and author. She has published two books on K-12 education, been a communications executive in the for- and nonprofit sectors, and served on the boards of the American University in Cairo, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and Thirteen/WNET, a public television station.

Actress Kirsten Potter has performed on stage, film, and television, including roles on Medium, Bones, and Judging Amy. Her narrations have won AudioFile Earphones Awards, and she earned an Audie nomination for her reading of Rise Again by Ben Tripp.