The Architect’s Apprentice is a dazzling and intricate tale from Elif Shafak, bestselling author of The Bastard of Istanbul.

‘There were six of us: the master, the apprentices and the white elephant. We built everything together…’

Sixteenth century Istanbul: a stowaway arrives in the city bearing an extraordinary gift for the Sultan. The boy is utterly alone in a foreign land, with no worldly possessions to his name except Chota, a rare white elephant destined for the palace menagerie. poet Rumi and Shams of Tabriz, and his forty rules of life and love, her world is turned upside down. She embarks on a journey to meet the mysterious author of this work.