The Complete Letters of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu

"These private letters of the wife of the British Ambassador to Constantinople (1716-1718), written to her friends in England, are the best insight into the 18th century Ottoman Empire written in English. Lady Mary Montegu learned Turkish, infiltrated the Sultan’s harem to learn about political machinations and discovered the practice of vaccination from Ottoman doctors among her many adventures. Her descriptions of the sweaty hamams, high fashion and religious customs of18th century Constantinople are also unexpectedly funny – I laughed a lot at this maverick lady adventurer."