Smoking habits in Constantinople during the 19th century:
Evidence from the Greek “City Mystery” Novel
In our study we examine the image of tobacco and smoking, as depicted in eight Greek novels in the form of ‘Apocrypha’ (City Mysteries), which were published in Constantinople during 1855-1897. Within the context of the realistic portrayal of the Greek Orthodox community of Constantinople, numerous versions of the enjoyable habit of smoking, which is still popular with the oriental society of the Ottoman capital, are recorded. Each type of smoking doesn’t account for the whole social pyramid; on the contrary, it reveals the social class of each smoker. Heavy smokers are male novel characters who come from different social classes whereas women, who are socially excluded and of loose morals, smoke rarely.
