Jason Goodwin
Encyclopedia
Jason Goodwin is a British
writer and historian. He studied Byzantine
history at Cambridge University. Following the success of A Time For Tea: Travels in China and India in Search of Tea, he walked from Poland
to Istanbul, Turkey. His account of the journey, On Foot to the Golden Horn, won the John Llewellyn Rhys/Mail on Sunday Prize in 1993.
Subsequently he wrote Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire, which was featured on the cover of The New York Times Book Review
. Later, he became popular as the author of a series of mysteries beginning with The Janissary Tree, which pivot on a Turkish eunuch
detective, Yashim, who lives and works in 19th century Istanbul. The Janissary Tree won the Edgar Award
for Best Novel in 2007 and novels in the series have been translated into over 40 languages.
The third Yashim novel, The Bellini Card, takes the action to Venice. The fourth, An Evil Eye, came out in Spring 2011.
Goodwin is the son of paint guru Jocasta Innes and New Age writer John Michell
. However, his parents separated before he was born. Goodwin did not meet his birth father until 1992, at the age of 28.
Yashim the Ottoman Investigator novels
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
writer and historian. He studied Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
history at Cambridge University. Following the success of A Time For Tea: Travels in China and India in Search of Tea, he walked from Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
to Istanbul, Turkey. His account of the journey, On Foot to the Golden Horn, won the John Llewellyn Rhys/Mail on Sunday Prize in 1993.
Subsequently he wrote Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire, which was featured on the cover of The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to The New York Times in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely read book review publications in the industry. The offices are located near Times Square in New York...
. Later, he became popular as the author of a series of mysteries beginning with The Janissary Tree, which pivot on a Turkish eunuch
Eunuch
A eunuch is a person born male most commonly castrated, typically early enough in his life for this change to have major hormonal consequences...
detective, Yashim, who lives and works in 19th century Istanbul. The Janissary Tree won the Edgar Award
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
for Best Novel in 2007 and novels in the series have been translated into over 40 languages.
The third Yashim novel, The Bellini Card, takes the action to Venice. The fourth, An Evil Eye, came out in Spring 2011.
Goodwin is the son of paint guru Jocasta Innes and New Age writer John Michell
John Michell (writer)
John Frederick Carden Michell was an English writer whose key sources of inspiration were Plato and Charles Fort...
. However, his parents separated before he was born. Goodwin did not meet his birth father until 1992, at the age of 28.
Published works
- A Time For Tea: Travels in China and India in Search of Tea
- On Foot to the Golden Horn
- Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire
- Greenback: The Almighty Dollar and the Invention of America
Yashim the Ottoman Investigator novels
- The Janissary TreeThe Janissary TreeThe Janissary Tree is a crime novel, written by Jason Goodwin. It is set in Istanbul in 1836.The first in a series featuring the eunuch detective Yashim, it deals with the fictional aftermath of a real event in Ottoman history – the so-called Auspicious Event, which took place in June 1826 – the...
(2006) - The Snake StoneThe Snake StoneThe Snake Stone is the second in a series of detective novels by Jason Goodwin, featuring the eunuch Yashim. It is set in Istanbul in 1838....
(2007) - The Bellini Card (2008)
- "An Evil Eye" (2011)