June's Room

I discovered after opening this book that I had actually read it before, perhaps with a different cover, but I decided to go ahead and read it again anyhow, and I'm glad I did. I'm not always a fan of historical novels but I enjoyed this tale of an elizabethan englishwoman in the Sultan's harem ,and the intrigues and mysteries of Palace life. It was full of lush description and a lot of historical research..(some of the characters were from real life), and was something of an adventure story too in as much as we hear how a present day student discovers the existence of this story and pieces it together, visiting Istanbul and meeting new people who ultimately enrich her own life in the course of her investigations.
Does this book have Orientalist cliches?-yes, possibly, but I took it at face value as entertainment rather than a historical account..and for me it was just a really enjoyable read..