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"Sumptuous, surprising, and profound."—Orhan Pamuk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk is hailed as one of the most charismatic political leaders of the twentieth century, but little is known today about his one and only wife, Latife Hanim. A multilingual intellectual who read law at the Sorbonne, she was a suffragist who closely followed women's movements around the world.
Her marriage set her apart from her contemporaries, raising her to the pinnacle of political power, truly able to work for the betterment of the women of Turkey. But just after two and a half years, Atatürk divorced her and Hanim was forgotten and maligned. Public opinion became dominated by the image of a sharp-tongued, quarrelsome woman who strained Atatürk's nerves.
In the first biography to be written on Latife Hanim, Ipek Çalislar reveals an astonishing woman, ahead of her time.
Ipek Çalislar is a journalist and writer. She has worked for the Turkish daily Cumhuriyet for twelve years, as news editor and later as the Sunday supplement editor. An international bestseller, Madam Atatürk is her first literary work.
Feyza Howell was born in 1957 in Izmur, Turkey. Her translations include Fiasco by Coskun Büktel, The Book of Madness by Levent Senyürek, and The Concubine by Gül Irepolgu.
'Played out against a backdrop of a country in turmoil, grappling with new-found freedoms and entry into the modern world, Madam Atatürk offers a fascinating insight into the power dynamics between a forthright, Western-educated woman and a charismatic, stubborn man. While Kemal prevailed, Latife played a pivotal role in shaping the new Turkey – and acknowledgement of her contribution is long overdue.' (Four Stars)
New Internationalist
Feyza Howell: Feyza Howell was born in 1957 in Izmir, Turkey. Her translations include Fiasco by Coskun Büktel, The Book of Madness by Levent Senyürek and The Concubine by Gül Irepoglu.
Foreword
Introduction
Acknowledgments
Translator’s Notes
List of Illustrations
1 Meeting
2 Latife’s Family
3 The Occupation of Izmir, Latife’s Hometown
4 Love Springs from the Ashes of the Great Fire
5 Mustafa Kemal Pasa Proposes
6 Waiting for the Wedding
7 Zübeyde Hanim, the Mother-in-Law
8 A Purebred Arabian as an Engagement Present
9 “Get ready, we’re getting married!”
10 Honeymoon
11 Arrival in Ankara, the Nationalist Base
12 The Bride who Came to the Garrison
13 Latife Entertains the Foreign Press at Çankaya
14 Touring the Country Together
15 The ‘Impertinent’ Bride who Wears Spurs
16 Bullet Holes in Latife’s Clothes
17 Latife Wants to Stand for Parliament
18 Life at the Residence
19 The Proclamation of the Republic
20 The Groom Has a Heart Attack
21 Latife Shields her Husband with her Own Body
22 She Prepares the State Protocol
23 Women of the Time
24 The Women’s Movement and Latife
25 Fikriye: The Former Consort Comes Back
26 Kick-starting the Economy
27 Autumn Tour
28 Days of Opposition
29 Was it a Love Match?
30 Divorce
31 Reverberations
32 Separation
33 Tears in Mustafa Kemal’s Blue Eyes
34 Latife Supports the Opposition Party
35 A Unique Surname from Atatürk
36 The Campaign of Vilification
37 Latife Hides her Illness
38 Guarding the History of the Republic in her Safe
Appendices:
I Obituaries in the Foreign Press
II Obituary by Burhan Felek
Biographical Notes
Bibliography
Index