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Orientalist painters in the 19th century fell over themselves to capture the Ottoman Empire on canvas. They painted the mosques and domes, the palaces and bazaars, and of course the naked odalisques, reclining with their pipes. They captured the tilework and the black eunuchs, the costume and the artefacts of an imperial civilisation that was, visually, utterly stunning. Here’s a curious thing: no-one has ever done it on screen.Jason Goodwin's Edgar Award–winning series set in Istanbul at the end of the Ottoman Empire--The Janissary Tree, The Snake Stone, and coming in 2009, The Bellini Card--features Investigator Yashim: detective, polyglot, chef, eunuch.
But let’s face it: who’s man enough to play my central character, Yashim the Investigator?
He’s invisible. He’s active. He’s calm - and smart.
And he’s a eunuch.
I put this very question on my blog (the bellinicard.wordpress.com) and the answer was:...[read on]
Learn more about Jason Goodwin and his work at his website and blog.
The Page 69 Test: The Snake Stone.
My Book, The Movie: The Snake Stone.
--Marshal Zeringue