Desert Governess: An Inside View on the Saudi Arabian Royal Family

What a pity! I was really looking forward to receiving this book and can't describe how disappointed I was when I started reading. Could this be one of the most boring books I have ever read? Great subject matter but poorly written. Don't waste your money!

Prim, unimaginative, and factually flawed (28/29 people found this helpful)

It becomes clear from the first page of Ellis's book that it is only her exotic subject matter, and not her writing style, that won her a contract with a publisher. The majority of her descriptions are insipidly dotted with weak-legged adjectives such as 'nice' and 'pretty'. Erratically, she chooses to describe the palace's unremarkable kitchen table but does not once attempt to paint portraits of those she lived with. Yes, we know you are not allowed to photograph Princess Abtah, but how does she look? What is her face like?

I have lived in Saudi Arabia for the past seventeen years, and each factual flaw that I stumbled across made me wince. The author incorrectly claims that 'Islamic law forbids women to show their faces in public' and that 'women can't travel in taxis'. When in public, a Muslim woman is permitted to show her face and her hands. I cannot believe that Ellis did not know this fact, as a.) she claims to have read Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood's book 'Islam' (Maqsood devotes a whole chapter to the subject of female dress) and b.) one of the photos that illustrate the book shows her camel-riding unveiled on the Jeddah Cornice. I suspect that she deliberately slipped in these little errors to 'spice up' her book - this is nothing more than a sordid effort to squeeze money out of the unusual position in which she found herself.

Ellis also handles her material with staggering arrogance. Whilst declaring that 'Arabic is far too difficult for me to learn', she still tries to convince the reader that she has touched Saudi women's lives. How can she have done so, when she herself admits that she could not understand their conversations and could only sometimes find a translator? There is a saying: "The limits of my language are the limits of my world," and Phyllis's inability to learn even basic Arabic fetters both herself and her readers. Her English is equally abysmal - misused punctuation and poor grammar made me want to attack the text with red ballpoint. A thoroughly bad read.

Terrible!!!! (20/21 people found this helpful)

I was really looking forward to reading this book. I have always been fascinated with the Middle East, and in view of the privileged vantage point of the author - who spent about a year working as governess for the young Saudi Prince and Princess - I really thought this could well be a great read. But I was wrong. Promising as the premises are, the writer is simply not up to the job. The superficiality of many commets made me cringe, and some of her remarks so arrogant! I ended up really disliking the author by the end of the book. I kept going, hoping the book would get better, but - unbelievably! - it actually does get worse, and it touches rock-bottom when the author decides to plunge into poetry... Terrible, believe me, this bookis just terrible!!!!!!

Is this the whole story? (11/15 people found this helpful)

An interesting account of life within the palace walls of Saudi Arabia. However, having lived in the Middle East for a number of years, and having visited Saudi Arabia, I felt that while describing the frustrations of the closeted life, the author is holding back on some of the seedier details of womens' life behind the veil. Readers should try Jean Sasson's books, of which 'Princess' is the first, and then attempt to reconcile the two very different accounts. I'd certainly be interested in people's comments.

Fascinating insight into a world of women. (10/15 people found this helpful)

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.

Desert Governess: An Inside View on the Saudi Arabian Royal Family

Phyllis Ellis

Reader Reviews:

Terrible! (1/1 people found this helpful)

Prim, unimaginative, and factually flawed (28/29 people found this helpful)

Terrible!!!! (20/21 people found this helpful)

Is this the whole story? (11/15 people found this helpful)

Fascinating insight into a world of women. (10/15 people found this helpful)

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