Princess - Jean P. Sasson

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.