Dracula in Turkey

 

Continuing where the first book left off, the young Vlad Dracula is in the Ottoman Empire with his good friend Gruya. They are both well hidden in his father’s supplies. Of course events transpire and Vlad Dracul the father of Vlad the III and ruler of Wallachia find out about the stowaways. And so the adventures begin.

Young Vlad and his friend Gruya wander in Edirne at a caravanserai and experience life under the Ottomans. Vlad frees a young pretty blond girl from being sold off as a slave. The poor girl never makes it to freedom she is caught by the slavers and decapitated. A lesson learned in Turkish brutality. Slave that try to escape face mutilation and death. Once a slave you must have your freedom purchased or you will never be free.
Intrigues were commonplace among the ruling class and politics are a shifty game. Vlad the II is caught in an intrigue by a sly Zaganos pasha. He frames Vlad the II and sets him up to be imprisoned, tortured and killed. Young Vlad can only think of one thing and that is to become a hostage in the Ottoman court and prove his father’s loyalty. Meanwhile back in Wallachia, Hungary is backing a pretender to the Wallachian throne but intrigues get the ruler locked in a dungeon.
Young Vlad’s attempt to become a hostage go sideways and he ends up in a prison. The rest of the story details his life as a slave and a prisoner. There are attempts to escape to freedom but we all know the story, Dracula remained a hostage.
This is a work of historical fiction. These adventures per se did not happen but they are a possibility. It reveals Dracula’s love for his country along with his bravery and daring. Better yet this gives a picture of what life was really like living in the Ottoman Empire. The empire and the Sultan could be very cruel and at the same time the Sultan could show himself to be very generous and kind. The Turks were master manipulators. Great book for young adults.