[2] Later in the trip she met the matriarch of an Islamic family "who, in spite of her hidden features, seemed to radiate a power and command a respect much greater than one might expect of a Muslim woman.

"[2] The trip led to her obtaining a BS in anthropology from the University of Utah, focusing on Middle Eastern culture.

The trilogy began with Sofia (1996), whose title character is kidnapped sold into the great harem of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

In Chamberlin's vision of harems, women used their seclusion for self-management, and only internal strife led to their domination under the sultans.

[3] Over the course of the novel, Adam rejects the old ways of the goddess and forges a new masculine religion represented by an enormous aurochs.