"When at last we were approaching the Harem, the Sultan, surely quite alarmed, said to me in a low voice (was that so the eunuch walking in front of us wouldn't hear, or because in this lonely and dark passageway he was frightened of his own voice?), Ne olacak? 'What is to become of things?'" Translated into English for the first time, this memoir provides fascinating first-hand insight into the personalities, intrigues, and inner workings of the Ottoman palace in its final decades. Written by Halid Ziya Uşaklıgil, who was First Secretary to Sultan Mehmed V and would go on to be one of Turkey's most famous novelists, On the Sultan's Service makes available to English readers the remarkable account of life and work in the Ottoman palace chancery―the public, "business" side of the palace―in its final incarnation. We learn of the court's new role under this second-to-last Sultan in post-Revolution Turkey. No longer exercising political power, the palace negotiated the minefields between political factions, sought ways to unite the empire in the face of sharpening nationalist aspirations, and faced with a kind of shocked despondency the opening salvos of the wars that were to overwhelm the country. Uşaklıgil includes interviews with the Imperial family and descriptions of royal nuptials, the palaces and its visitors, and the crises that shook the court. He delivers an insightful and moving portrait of Mehmed V, the elderly gentleman who reigned over the Ottoman Empire through both Balkan Wars and World War I. On the Sultan's Service gives readers a guided tour into the secretive world of Sultan Mehmed V's palace by one of Turkey's greatest writers. What is not to love? On the Sultan's Service is a collection of writings that pertain to [Uşaklıgil's] time as First Secretary to Mehmed V. His look into the life of the Ottoman court is unique. . . it details the daily lives of the servants, eunuchs, officials and the Royal Family, providing tantalising glimpses into a normally closed world. This is a book that will be appreciated by anybody who is interested in the Ottoman Empire. --Luke Frostick, Bosphorus Review of Books The most recent Ottoman memoir to appear in English is On the Sultan's Service by Halid Ziya Uşaklıgil. In 1909-12 he was first secretary of the chancery of Mehmed V. Packed with wonderful old photographs, it has been brilliantly edited and translated by Douglas S Brookes. This memoir is notable for its portrait of the forgotten Sultan Mehmed V. Halid Ziya presents him as a model constitutional monarch. Few courtiers have written with such zest about food. "Excellent dishes from the imperial kitchen" were served. . . , with music from the imperial orchestra "worthy of any palace anywhere". In 1912 Halid Ziya lost his job in the palace. Later that year the Balkan powers attacked. The multinational empire depicted in these memoirs would be replaced by the harsh new world of national states. --Philip Mansel, Cornucopia: The Magazine for Connoisseurs of Turkey Douglas Scott Brookes teaches Ottoman Turkish at the University of California, Berkeley. He is author of Harem Ghosts: What One Cemetery Can Tell Us About the Ottoman Empire and The Concubine, the Princess, and the Teacher: Voices from the Ottoman Harem .