The Osmanli dynasty rule over the Ottoman Empire for fully six centuries before 1922‎.‎ Over the course of that period they developed a court culture renowned for its hedonism and opulence‎.‎ By the 18th century‎,‎ successive sultans were less concerned with military conquest and territorial expansion‎,‎ confirming themselves instead to the pleasures afforded by the magnificent Topkapi Palace in their capital of Istanbul‎.‎ They suppressed rivals with unflinching brutality‎,‎ indulged their whims and fetishes to the full and enjoyed the pleasures of the imperial harem guarded by its black eunuchs‎.‎ This fascinating book probes behind the doors of the palace‎,‎ or ‎'‎House of Felicity‎'‎ as it was known‎,‎ to reveal the lurid and licentious lives of these swinging sultans‎.‎ ‎(‎Kirkus UK‎)‎