2000 Press Release from Windsor-Brooke Books on the book,

Princess Sultana’s Circle

      NEWS FROM WINDSOR-BROOKE BOOKS

 In today’s modern world, young women assume that the freedom they enjoy—to dress as they want, live on their own, choose a life partner, get an education, or have a career—is equally available to their peers in other countries.  Much to the dismay of many young women, they have found through New York Times bestselling author Jean Sasson’s books, that is shockingly and tragically not the case.

In her international bestsellers, PRINCESS and PRINCESS SULTANA’S DAUGHTERS, Jean Sasson vividly depicted the harsh restrictions endured by Saudi women under what she calls “one of the most backward and cruelest social systems in the world.”  Telling the true story of Sultana, a pseudonym that protects the identity of a modern-day princess in the royal family of Saudi Arabia, Sasson describes a society in which women are second class citizens.  With no rights, no vote, no control over their own lives or bodies, they have no choice but to endure the atrocities perpetrated against them.  The books, which have sold over five million copies combined worldwide, have struck a chord with women of every age and nationality.  More importantly, they have created a new awareness regarding the issue of women’s rights in other countries. 

 Now, in response to readers’ tremendous outpouring of interest and affection for Sultana as well as her works on behalf of oppressed women, Jean Sasson and the Princess continue to expose the outrageous human rights abuses suffered by Muslim women in PRINCESS SULTANA’S CIRCLE (May 2000; $24.95).  In the third book in the Princess trilogy the compelling true story centers on Sultana’s crisis of confidence as she finds herself up against the seemingly unassailable power of Saudi Arabia men.

 When her niece is forced into an arranged marriage with a cruel, depraved older man, and a royal cousin is revealed as keeping a harem of sex slaves, Sultana’s attempts at intervention in their various plights are thwarted.  Feeling frustrated and helpless, she begins drinking heavily.  Imbibing alcohol is an illegal act in Saudi Arabia, and a sin for which she could be divorced and shunned by her family.  However, when her nephews are caught committing an unspeakable act against a 12-year-old girl, Sultana is galvanized into action.  Risking her personal status and wealth, she takes a stand against the complacency of her male relatives over the child’s fate.  Ultimately, Sultana and her sisters vow to form a circle of support that will surround and shelter abused women and girls.  With PRINCESS SULTANA’S CIRCLE, it is the hope of both Jean Sasson and Sultana that women everywhere will join in this symbolic circle and reach out to other women in need.

 Jean Sasson first witnessed the peril of absolute male authority when she traveled to Saudi Arabia over twenty years ago to work as an administrative coordinator at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Riyadh.  In addition to the Princess series, she is the author of THE RAPE OF KUWAIT, which reached #2 on the New York Times bestseller list and has sold 1.2 million copies.  Jean lives in the Southern United States and is currently at work on her book, ARAB HEARTS, ARAB MINDS, which details Jean’s own exhilarating experiences while living in, and traveling throughout, the Middle East.