‘Madonna in a Fur Coat’ reaches wider audience abroad

İhsan Yılmaz

Sabahattin Ali’s novel “Madonna in a Fur Coat,” first published in 1943, continues to attract new readers abroad with its English translation.

The novel was translated into English and published by Penguin Classics in 2016. Since then, it has drawn interest in English-speaking countries and reached notable sales figures for a translated literary work.

The book’s success abroad has also reflected its renewed popularity in Türkiye, where it returned to bestseller lists after 2010 and has remained widely read.

Sabahattin Ali is regarded as one of the leading figures of Turkish literature. Alongside novels, he wrote short stories, poems and essays that remain part of school and university reading lists. Despite his literary standing, his life ended at the age of 41.

In 1948, Sabahattin Ali attempted to leave Türkiye and was killed near the Bulgarian border. Ali Ertekin, who later confessed to the murder, was taken into custody months after the writer's body was found in the Istranca Mountains. Ertekin was sentenced to four years in prison and released in 1950 under an amnesty law.

The killing is one of the most discussed cases in Turkish literary history. Over the years, many books and studies have examined the circumstances of the writer's death, based on witness statements and court documents.

Sabahattin Ali's work has continued to reach new readers over the decades. His letters were later collected in the book “I Will Always Stay Young,” which takes its title from a line he wrote in a personal letter.

The book recently gained wider visibility on social media after model and influencer Kendall Jenner shared the English edition, “Madonna in a Fur Coat,” on her Instagram account, which has 285 million followers. The post showed the book together with a notebook and a pen.

The strong international interest in Sabahattin Ali's novel also is also a surprise for his daughter, Filiz Ali.

“I cannot fully understand how the novel has attracted such interest almost 100 years after it was written. It has become a popular book, especially among young readers in Europe. A world-famous model, who would never share anything without financial gain, posts the book on her social media account. I go to schools to give talks, and when I mention the book, I see students’ eyes fill with tears. This moves me deeply. It means they find in the novel an emotion they feel is missing,” she expressed.