From Publishers Weekly
Inspired by true stories of 18th-century kidnappings, debut novelist Taylor produces an imaginative and bawdy romp through the harem of the emperor of Morocco. Young Helen Gloag, bound from Scotland to the colonies in 1769, is captured by pirates and brought to the slave markets of Tangiers. There, she is purchased for the emperor's harem by the dwarf Microphilus, who procures and manages the hundreds of women selected as royal chattel. Instantly smitten with Helen's pale skin and red hair, Microphilus conceals his passion for her as she learns to make her way in the languorous-and competitive-world of the harem. Initially at a loss in terms of language and culture, she is dismissed by the emperor; under the tutelage of Queen Batoom (the first of the emperor's four wives), she eventually charms him and is soon his favorite. But with favoritism comes danger: one of the other queens has succumbed to a mysterious wasting illness, and when Helen is chosen as the emperor's fourth wife, it appears that she is also doomed. Instrumental in unraveling the mystery is Microphilus, who-having long been Queen Batoom's secret lover-eventually becomes close to Helen as well, as the two take comfort in remembering their shared homeland. Alternating between third-person sections from Helen's perspective and entries in Microphilus's diary, Taylor conjures up the shimmering exoticism of the emperor's court. Most notable is the concentration on fleshy exuberance (the emperor's women must be fat, and nearly all of them, including Helen, become giddy with sex in their forced idleness). Amid all the rolling rumps and alliterative saucy sex talk, Taylor manages to tell a highly unusual and satisfying love story. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
First-novelist Taylor has crafted a foray into eighteenth-century Morocco full of intriguing characters. Helen Gloag escapes her dire life in Scotland aboard a ship bound for the American colonies, but she is confronted with an uncertain destiny when the barge is accosted by a band of violent pirates thirsty for riches and bloodshed. Helen's copper hair and fair skin earmark her for the slave trade, and she is sold to a gentlemanly dwarf named Microphilus, who is keeper of the Moroccan emperor's harem. Helen's ethereal beauty catches the eye of the insatiable emperor and that of the kindly Scottish dwarf responsible for acquiring the fire-haired beauty. After a precarious initial meeting, the emperor becomes enamored of Helen, now known as Aziza, and names her his fourth queen. The women of the harem are cruel and catty, viciously vying for the emperor's attentions, and Helen's life, despite her new lofty position, is in imminent danger. Taylor's spellbinding flair for storytelling is heady with spicy erotica. Elsa Gaztambide
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

ANNOTATION

Join Debbie Taylor for our free Online Reading Group on The Fourth Queen. The conversation begins February 7th -- sign up now!

FROM THE PUBLISHER

A lush historical epic, The Fourth Queen is the story of one woman's struggle for power and love in the court of the eighteenth-century Emperor of Morocco. Poetically intense and sensual, it marks the debut of a gifted new author.

Beautiful Helen Gloag is determined to escape the cycle of poverty and early death that has destroyed so many women in her native Scotland. Barely out of her teens, she flees her hometown and sets sail for the Colonies on a ship bound for Boston. But the ship falls prey to a band of corsairs—pirates from the Barbary coast of Africa. Helen is taken captive and sent to a procuress in Morocco, where women are sold into the slave markets of the nobility. In the procuress's house, she is discovered by the witty, soft-hearted dwarf Microphilus, who oversees the Harem of the Emperor himself. Knowing her red hair and milky skin will enthrall his master, he takes her to Marrakech, and the imperial palace.

The Harem of the Emperor is a mysterious, voluptuous, and forbidding place, a hive of dangerous political tensions and unlikely friendships. Microphilus, himself a Scot captured by pirates as a young man, has found his fortune in the Emperor's Harem, where he serves the Queens, including the charismatic, amazonian African empress Batoom, who is his lover. With Microphilus's help, Helen learns to negotiate the politics of the Harem and compete for the Emperor's favor.

Cast into the luxurious but sinister world of the Harem, Helen is at first terrified of the godlike and often cruel Emperor, but she soon becomes his favorite. Eventually, out of all the Harem women, she is chosen to become his fourth wife—the greatest ofhonors, since the Emperor may have hundreds of concubines but only four official wives. With her marriage, however, comes the greatest danger. Helen's predecessor, the other "White Queen," has succumbed to a mysterious, disfiguring illness and is slowly wasting away. Poison is the most likely cause, and Microphilus knows that Helen is destined to be the next victim.

In the Harem, hundreds of women are vying to be one of the four queens, thus setting the scene for the tragic power struggle and love story that ensue.

SYNOPSIS

A lush historical epic, The Fourth Queen is the story of one woman’s struggle for power and love in the court of the eighteenth-century Emperor of Morocco. Poetically intense and sensual, it marks the debut of a gifted new author.

Beautiful Helen Gloag is determined to escape the cycle of poverty and early death that has destroyed so many women in her native Scotland. Barely out of her teens, she flees her hometown and sets sail for the Colonies on a ship bound for Boston. But the ship falls prey to a band of corsairs—pirates from the Barbary coast of Africa. Helen is taken captive and sent to a procuress in Morocco, where women are sold into the slave markets of the nobility. In the procuress’s house, she is discovered by the witty, soft-hearted dwarf Microphilus, who oversees the Harem of the Emperor himself. Knowing her red hair and milky skin will enthrall his master, he takes her to Marrakech, and the imperial palace.

The Harem of the Emperor is a mysterious, voluptuous, and forbidding place, a hive of dangerous political tensions and unlikely friendships. Microphilus, himself a Scot captured by pirates as a young man, has found his fortune in the Emperor’s Harem, where he serves the Queens, including the charismatic, amazonian African empress Batoom, who is his lover. With Microphilus’s help, Helen learns to negotiate the politics of the Harem and compete for the Emperor’s favor.

Cast into the luxurious but sinister world of the Harem, Helen is at first terrified of the godlike and often cruel Emperor, but she soon becomes his favorite. Eventually, out of all the Harem women, she is chosen to become his fourthwife—the greatest of honors, since the Emperor may have hundreds of concubines but only four official wives. With her marriage, however, comes the greatest danger. Helen’s predecessor, the other “White Queen,” has succumbed to a mysterious, disfiguring illness and is slowly wasting away. Poison is the most likely cause, and Microphilus knows that Helen is destined to be the next victim.

In the Harem, hundreds of women are vying to be one of the four queens, thus setting the scene for the tragic power struggle and love story that ensue.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Inspired by true stories of 18th-century kidnappings, debut novelist Taylor produces an imaginative and bawdy romp through the harem of the emperor of Morocco. Young Helen Gloag, bound from Scotland to the colonies in 1769, is captured by pirates and brought to the slave markets of Tangiers. There, she is purchased for the emperor's harem by the dwarf Microphilus, who procures and manages the hundreds of women selected as royal chattel. Instantly smitten with Helen's pale skin and red hair, Microphilus conceals his passion for her as she learns to make her way in the languorous-and competitive-world of the harem. Initially at a loss in terms of language and culture, she is dismissed by the emperor; under the tutelage of Queen Batoom (the first of the emperor's four wives), she eventually charms him and is soon his favorite. But with favoritism comes danger: one of the other queens has succumbed to a mysterious wasting illness, and when Helen is chosen as the emperor's fourth wife, it appears that she is also doomed. Instrumental in unraveling the mystery is Microphilus, who-having long been Queen Batoom's secret lover-eventually becomes close to Helen as well, as the two take comfort in remembering their shared homeland. Alternating between third-person sections from Helen's perspective and entries in Microphilus's diary, Taylor conjures up the shimmering exoticism of the emperor's court. Most notable is the concentration on fleshy exuberance (the emperor's women must be fat, and nearly all of them, including Helen, become giddy with sex in their forced idleness). Amid all the rolling rumps and alliterative saucy sex talk, Taylor manages to tell a highly unusual and satisfying love story. (Nov.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

According to Islamic law, a man may have up to four wives. In 1769, the emperor of Morocco has a harem of a thousand women, but only three wives. He sends the dwarf Microphilus, his chief eunuch, to seek out more women. On a ship bound for the American colonies, Helen Gloag, a young Scottish woman, is taken captive by Barbary pirates and brought to the slave markets of Tangiers. Knowing she will be a treasure in the harem, Microphilus buys Helen. It is not long before the emperor is enamored of Helen and chooses her to be his fourth wife. With this great honor comes grave danger. One of the other queens has mysteriously fallen ill and poison is suspected. Microphilus fears Helen will be the next victim and puts his own life in danger to find the villain. Told alternatively from the points of view of Helen and Microhilus, whose narration borders on the florid with a superfluous use of adjectives and French phrases, the story moves along predictably until the conclusion, when the true culprit is discovered. Even though the rather passive character of Helen is never fully developed (compared with Microphilus, she is merely cardboard), this debut novel holds the reader's attention with an unusual setting and intriguing cast of characters, many of whom are based on actual historical figures. Recommended for larger fiction collections.-Karen T. Bilton, Somerset Cty. Lib., Bridgewater, NJ Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews