Q & A WITH DORA LEVY MOSSANEN

You paint such a vivid, detailed landscape of life as it was lived in the harem, the Jewish Quarter, and ancient Persia. Howmuch research did you conduct, and how did the process of researching for the novel shape the story and the characters? AreRebekah, Gold Dust, and Raven based on real people?

Research for Harem, although voluminous, was so fascinating, I look back at the learning process with great fondness. My education about the Jewish Quarter, harems, sultanas, and eunuchs began early after I moved to Iran from Israel. My grandfather, a historian, would relish recounting astonishing stories that he assured me were true. As I grew older, the tales I heard and books I read became more complex and so did the characters that took shape in my imagination. I’ve known Rebekah, Gold Dust, and Raven first in real life and then embellished them in my imagination.

Your research yielded some very surprising facts about life in a harem. What were some of the most surprising to you? Howdid they change your view of women’s lives in that era?

Facts I found most surprising, which also altered my view of women in harems, were the power sultanas often wielded over their men and the politics of their countries, despite their restrictive environments. I was also astonished at the sexual desires and skills of eunuchs in spite of the general belief that castration deprives men of the need for and ability to perform.

Many women will recognize themselves in the loving but sometimes conflicted relationship between Rebekah and Gold Dust, especiallyby the clash between Rebekah’s ambitions and Gold Dust’s dreams. How did your experience as a mother and as a daughter informyour writing?

Both as a daughter and mother of daughters, I have experienced the intricate web of love, ambition, and dreams that often translate into rebellion and a clash of wills that, if not handled delicately, could lead to disaster. Rebekah’s aspiration for Gold Dust did not mesh well with Gold Dust’s vision for herself, but, in the end, Rebekah’s wisdom and courage might have saved the day. I, too, like all my characters, have been faced with challenging decisions that might have altered the course of our lives.

You’ve just begun working on a second novel, Courtesan. Can you tell us about your new heroine? Do you plan to continue thestory of Rebekah, Gold Dust, and Raven in this book or another?

Simone is a French woman of the Belle Epoque era who in many ways is similar to Rebekah. Simone will not tolerate betrayal and the loss of her love and will become a wily courtesan who will hunt down and punish her husband’s murderer. Rebekah too will become a prostitute, so as to realize her dream of having her daughter join the shah’s harem where she believes her daughter will enjoy a better life than the one Rebekah could have offered her in the Jewish quarter. Both Simone and Rebekah are obsessed, cunning, and powerful and, despite all odds, refuse to be discouraged. I hope to, one day soon, continue Rebekah and Raven’s story after Rebekah returns to her beloved granddaughter, the Queen of Persia.