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Princess

A True Story of Life Behind the Veil

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
Sultana Al-Sa'ud, a Saudi Arabian Princess, has four mansions on three continents, her own private jet, glittering jewels, and designer dresses galore. But in reality, Sultana has no freedom or control over her own life, no value but as a bearer of sons. Hidden behind her black floor-length veil, she is a prisoner, jailed by her father, her husband, her sons, and her country. For the sake of her daughters, Sultana has decided to take the risk of speaking out about the life of women in her country: thirteen-year-old girls forced to marry men five times their age, young women killed by drowning, stoning, or isolation in the women's room, a padded, windowless cell where women are confined with neither light nor conversation until death claims them. In speaking out, Sultana risks bringing the wrath of the Saudi establishment upon her head. But by telling her story to Jean Sasson, Sultana allows us to see beyond the veils of this secret society, to the heart of a nation where sex, money, and power reign supreme.
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    • Publisher's Weekly

      August 31, 1992
      In this consistently gripping work, the American-born Sasson ( The Rape of Kuwait ) recounts the life story of a Saudi princess she met while living in Saudi Arabia. The pseudonymous Sultana is a niece of King Faisal. Her father had four wives and a palace for each of them. Her older sister was circumcised before a ``modern'' doctor intervened on behalf of Sultana and her eight other sisters; their father treated all 10 as breeding animals, useless until old enough to be married off and to produce sons for their husbands. One sister, wed to a 62-year-old sexual sadist, attempted suicide. Sultana, the family's rebel, had the luck to marry a man who valued her spirit and intelligence. Yet when, after bearing five children, she could bear no more, he prepared to take another wife; Sultana fought this, as she had fought every other injustice and indignity her culture inflicted on her. In Sasson's telling, Sultana's story is a fast-paced, enthralling drama, rich in detail about the daily lives of the Saudi royals and packed with vivid personal sketches of the ruling clan and sharp opinions about the sexual mores, politics, religion and culture of this still-feudal nation. An appalling glimpse of the conditions endured by even such privileged women as the attractive, well-born Sultana. Photos not seen by PW . First serial to Cosmopolitan; Literary Guild alternate; author tour.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      August 30, 1993
      In this consistently gripping work, a Literary Guild alternate selection in cloth, the American-born Sasson recounts the life story of a Saudi princess she met while living in Saudi Arabia, offering a glimpse of the appalling conditions endured by even privileged women in the Middle East. Photos.

Formats

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Languages

  • English

Levels

  • ATOS Level:8
  • Lexile® Measure:1030
  • Interest Level:9-12(UG)
  • Text Difficulty:6-8

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