"L'esclave du pacha, suivi de Histoire de ma grand'tante" by X.-B. Saintine is a collection of novellas written in the mid-19th century. The first tale is an Orientalist romantic adventure centered on Baïla, a Mingrelian odalisque kept by the fearsome Djezzar-Pacha in Sivas, and a bold young Frenchman who risks everything to reach her, as observed and retold by a European narrator. The companion piece promises a more intimate, anecdotal vein, but the overall appeal lies in Saintine’s blend of exotic setting, sentiment, and intrigue.
The opening of the first novella frames the story in France, where a narrator’s orientalist friend recalls an episode from Asia Minor, then shifts to Sivas and the gardens of the pacha. We meet Baïla—lavishly described in her secluded world—her watchful servant Mariam, and Djezzar-Pacha, a brutal yet besotted ruler with a pet lion, Haïder. Saintine sketches Baïla’s path from Mingrelia to the Constantinople slave market to Djezzar’s harem, her jealousy and caprices, and the audacious appearance of a young Frenchman who slips into the forbidden gardens and survives a suspected fatal chase. As Baïla’s curiosity and longing grow, Mariam reluctantly admits contact with the foreigner, and, while the pacha is away, the man is smuggled into the palace grounds in a crate of flowers—bringing the clandestine encounter to the threshold. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
