Elif Shafak: ‘The Architect’s Apprentice’
RA Book Club
Friday 4 December 2015 6.30 - 8pm
The General Assembly Room, Burlington House, Royal Academy of Arts
£19 (including exhibition entry on the day). £15 (event only).
Jean-Etienne Liotard
Acclaimed author Elif Shafak leads a discussion on her sumptuous historical novel ‘The Architect’s Apprentice’, set during the height of the Ottoman Empire.
The Architect’s Apprentice tells the story of a young boy’s twisting fortunes in a dazzling and intricate narrative, sprawling across 16th-century Istanbul. The novel explores issues of superstition, the whims of courtly attention and forbidden romance, and the connection between an elephant, his boy-keeper and a royal architect.
This Book Club coincides with the RA's exhibition of work by Jean-Etienne Liotard, known as ‘the Turk’ in London for his adoption of Oriental costume and a long beard, relics of his time in the Near East, with 4 years in Istanbul. Author Elif Shafak will lead this book club, giving participants a unique opportunity to discuss The Architect’s Apprentice directly with the author.
Please read the book prior to attending this event.
All tickets include a drink.