Desert Governess: An Englishwoman's Personal Experience With the Saudi Royal Family

Rating:
Summary: A litttle too stilted
Review: As a single woman who also worked in Saudi Arabia, I found her book a little too stiff, but then I realize she was living within the confines of a royal family compound and not out in the general public often. For a lighthearted intimate view of Saudi Arabia from an enlightened single American womans perspective, I also recommend 'SINGLE IN SAUDI' by GENIA.

Rating:
Summary: I just love this book - couldn't put it down.
Review: Excellent book, great read and really puts you inside the palace. Thanks for writing this!

Rating:
Summary: A disappointment
Review: If you want to read about Saudi Arabia, then this book is not for you. It is a story about an Englishwoman who goes to S.A.
to make a living as a governess. It is not especially intersting or well written, sadly lacking in descriptions of both the country and the palace.

Don't expect another "Priness"!!

Rating:
Summary: It all depends on your expectations
Review: Recently widowed Phyllis Ellis answered an advertisement for an English Governess for a Saudi Prince and two Princesses. She found herself a near-prisoner in a luxurious Marble Palace. Phyllis Ellis describes her life among women, vivid as butterflies in their own quarters, who turn into anonymous black crows when they venture out. She, too, had to be masked and shrouded from head to toe when she left the Palace grounds. Her description of life behind the veil is so vivid I had to leave the book and go outside ankles uncovered and barefaced - just to prove to myself that I could. Leaving the Palace for any reason was difficult. Permission had to be given and a driver and chaperone found. Even finding a stamp for a letter home was an ordeal. For this, too, women are dependent on men - yet another means of control.

Guardians of the strict moral and religious rules are on patrol and failure to keep the rules is severely punished. An unmasked moment could be dangerous.

Inside the Palace the days passed slowly. There was a great deal of near-ritual sitting around. Phyllis knew that her every move was watched. This intensely private society seems not to allow for personal privacy.

Within the tight framework of restrictions this is also a book full of colour and life. The pages buzz with excitement at the wedding of a Saudi Princess. The women go to great lengths to beautify themselves with coiffures, jewels and designer clothes. They dance the night away. Men only appear at the end of the evening when they come with the groom to collect his bride.

Where there is complete segregation of the sexes and everything is forbidden, the slightest encounter becomes erotic ... and dangerous.

Phyllis Ellis has written a book full of compassion for the women she met, and affection for the family who employed her. She makes no judgements about the world she found herself in. The facts are so strange to us that comment is unnecessary. Phyllis Ellis was an alien in a world of ritual and routine - a place where there is no room for doubt. Her courage and humanity stood her in good stead.

The narrative, full of fascinating insights, bowls along. You do have to keep reading.

Rating:
Summary: Not what it should be...
Review: Unfortunately, this writer needed an editor, BADLY. As someone one lived in Saudi Arabia for 17 years, I wished for this writer to really describe the country and the people well.

If you're a person truly interested in the lives of women in Saudi Arabia, then I suggest you buy the Princess books by Jean Sasson. I don't make this suggestion lightly. I lived there and I KNOW the lives women live and it was wonderful to read books that were not only exceptionally well written but gave vivid and accurate descriptions of Saudi Arabia and the women who live behind the veil--both royal and non-royal...

I'm sorry this particular book didn't reach further... It's a great subject for the time...

Rating:
Summary: A litttle too stilted
Review: While this book is an interesting story, and provides a good look into a fascinating culture, it is not well written. The writing is hard to read, doesn't always make sense and is very choppy. It is also i little hard to follow at times because the paragraphs jump all over the place. Considering the unusual opportunity the author had, this could have been a fascinating book, but unfortunatley the mechanics bring it down and make it rather irritating to read. Also the author seems to be a little confused regarding some facts about Islam.