More than 20 years after it was published, Jean Sasson's PRINCESS: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia is a NYT bestseller again.
PRINCESS laid bare life in the Saudi royal family as Princess Sultana knew it. Her story of incomparable luxury paid for with the sacrifice of all personal freedom caused a sensation when it was first published in 1992, by William Morrow in the United States and by Transworld in the UK. It was sold in 38 countries and became a worldwide bestseller, including a stint of eleven weeks on the New York Times list, rising to No. 3. Before PRINCESS, few people knew the truth of life for women in Saudi Arabia. To discover how young girls could be married to men three times their age, and how women were not allowed to work or travel without a male guardian's express permission, was a revelation for readers.
In anticipation of the twentieth anniversary, Jean Sasson and Princess Sultana updated the story. Sasson and her literary agent, Liza Dawson of Liza Dawson Associates, then commissioned new art work for all three books in the PRINCESS trilogy, which is now published by Windsor-Brooke Books and distributed by Midpoint.
After a recent blast announcing a promotion, and with the help of both Amazon and Barnes & Noble, the book surged in sales. PRINCESS was No. 1 on this week's Wall Street Journal e-book bestseller list. It was No. 17 on the USA Today list. And next week it will appear at No. 2 on The New York Times e-list and No. 3 on The New York Times combined e- and print editions.
"There was obviously a pent-up demand for PRINCESS," says Dawson. "PRINCESS is a timeless classic. It is required reading in colleges and high schools. Teachers say it is the book to turn to for authentic detail about the lives of women who live beneath the veil. And unfortunately little has changed in Saudi Arabia, which means that the book is just as current as it was twenty years ago."
Sasson and Princess Sultana are currently working on a new book in the PRINCESS series which has been licensed to her UK Publisher Transworld.
Sasson is also the author of THE RAPE OF KUWAIT: The True Story of Iraqi Atrocities Against a Civilian Population; MAYADA: Daughter of Iraq; LOVE IN A TORN LAND: The True Story of a Freedom Fighter's Escape from Iraqi Vengeance; FOR THE LOVE OF A
"It's particularly exciting to read the dozens of reviews on Barnes and Noble and on Amazon from new readers,” says Dawson. “Sasson is an author who has an on-going career in print and a strong digital backlist. Both formats support each other and have brought her back to bestsellerdom."
PRAISE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER PRINCESS:
"Absolutely riveting and profoundly sad" --People magazine
"A chilling story...a vivid account of an air-conditioned nightmare" --Entertainment Weekly
"Must-reading for anyone interested in human rights" --USA Today
"Shocking...candid...sad, sobering, and compassionate" --San Francisco Chronicle
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