An analysis of Solmaz Kâmuran's novels

In the recent period of Turkish literature, one of the notable names among the writers who produced works in a popular style is Solmaz Kâmuran. Kamuran combines reality and fiction in her novels. She includes characters and events she created based on real events in her novels in a fictional atmosphere. In her novels, she generally deals with topics such as Ottoman history, wars, migrations, economic crises, and slavery. The novels in this category of Kamuran, who is mostly known for her historical novels, are written with the "pop history novel" approach. Pop history novels, although they benefit from historical knowledge, are novels that, unlike classical historical novels, integrate events such as violence and intrigue. Kâmuran was particularly inspired by the turbulent years of Ottoman history in these types of novels. In addition to the sultans who ascended to the Ottoman throne, she revived the lives of the valide sultans and princes, the intrigues going on in the palace, and the power struggles in fiction. She also had a persistent tendency to represent minorities and social groups forced into exile through real or fictional characters. It can be said that Solmaz Kamuran generally used the data provided by historical sources to deal with events that actually happened and people who existed in the past in a new narrative in the fictional world of the novel. In addition, she included some people and events in her novels as completely fictional elements. In her novels other than her historical novels, Solmaz Kamuran mostly dealt with issues related to recent times and issues that are prominent in their social nature.