IN THE PALACE OF FLOWERS

Inspired by the only existing first-person narrative of an
Abyssinian slave in Iran, Jamila Habashi, In the Palace of
Flowers recreates the opulent Persian royal court of the
Qajars at the end of the nineteenth century.
Torn away from their families, Jamila, a concubine, and
Abimelech, a eunuch, now serve at the whims of the royal
family, only too aware of their own insignificance in the
eyes of their masters. Abimelech and Jamila’s quest to take
control over their lives and find meaning leads to them
navigating the dangerous politics of the royal court, and to
the radicals that lie beyond its walls.
Richly textured and elegantly written, at its heart In The
Palace of Flowers is a novel about the fear of being
forgotten.