Elif Shafak Collection 4 Books Set (The Forty Rules of Love, The Bastard of Istanbul, The Architect's Apprentice, The Island of Missing Trees)

This four-book set brings together novels by Elif Shafak: The Forty Rules of Love, The Bastard of Istanbul, The Architect's Apprentice and The Island of Missing Trees. Spanning different places and periods, the collection moves from contemporary domestic life to historical Istanbul and the divided island of Cyprus.

Across the set, the stories follow characters shaped by family ties, hidden histories and the search for meaning. From a life that appears complete yet feels hollow, to a household marked by a curse, to a boy arriving in a new city with an extraordinary gift, each novel introduces a distinct world and cast, while keeping human relationships at the centre.

Included titles

• The Forty Rules of Love
• The Bastard of Istanbul
• The Architect's Apprentice
• The Island of Missing Trees

Key details

• Four-book collection by Elif Shafak
• Includes The Forty Rules of Love, The Bastard of Istanbul, The Architect's Apprentice and The Island of Missing Trees
• Stories set in Istanbul and Cyprus, across multiple time periods

Synopses

The Forty Rules of Love

Ella Rubinstein has a husband, three teenage children and a comfortable home, yet feels an emptiness in her life. After reading a manuscript about the thirteenth-century Sufi poet Rumi and Shams of Tabriz, and their forty rules of life and love, her world is unsettled. She sets out to meet the mysterious author.

The Bastard of Istanbul

Twenty years later, Asya Kazanci lives in Istanbul with her extended family in a house of women, shaped by a family curse in which the men die in their early forties. Her relatives include Zeliha, who runs a tattoo parlour, Banu, who has discovered she is clairvoyant, and Feride, a hypochondriac expecting disaster. When Asya’s Armenian-American cousin Armanoush comes to stay, long-hidden family secrets linked to Turkey’s turbulent past begin to surface.

The Architect's Apprentice

In sixteenth-century Istanbul, a stowaway arrives with an extraordinary gift for the Sultan. Alone and without possessions, the boy has only Chota, a rare white elephant bound for the palace menagerie. His journey begins there, as young Jahan rises from lowly origins to the highest ranks of the Sultan’s court.

The Island of Missing Trees

In 1974 on the island of Cyprus, two teenagers from opposite sides of a divided land meet at a tavern in the city they both call home. Kostas, who is Greek and Christian, and Defne, who is Turkish and Muslim, can only meet in secret. Beneath blackened beams hung with garlands of garlic, chilli peppers and wild herbs, the tavern offers food, music and wine, and a brief escape from the sorrows outside.