who wrote?

[mally m]

who wrote the book - The last princess of Iraq?

[MustafaTickl]

The last Princess of Iraq is, I believe, Her Royal Highness Princess Fakhrelnissa bint Ra'ad but I am unaware of any book about her.

[mally m]

Thanks Mustafa. I thought it was perhaps Nawal El Saadawi but there is no listing of her having written it. Shame, it was a great read

[MustafaTickl]

I hve been associated with Iraq ever since I was demobbed from the Army in 1946 and have read whatever I can get my hands on about Iraq but have absolutely no recollection of a book about Fakhrelnissa. Wasn't Saadawi an Egyptian? And didn't she have a son and a daughter who both became writers? If it was a Saadawi could it be the son or the daughter?

[Octavius]

On 14 July 1958, when Colonel Abdul Karim Qassim took control of the Kingdom of Iraq by a coup d'etat, the Royal family was ordered to leave their Palace in Baghdad. The group consisted of King Faisal II; Crown Prince 'Abd al-Ilah; Princess Hiyam, Abdul Ilah's wife; Princess Nafeesa, Abdul Ilah�s mother, Princess Abadiya, the king�s aunt; and several servants.

When all of them had congregated in the courtyard they were told to turn towards the Palace wall, they were all then executed by firing squad under the command of Captain Abdus Sattar As Sab, a member of the coup d'�tat led by Colonel Abdul Karim Qassim. Nuri as-Said, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Iraq, was subsequently killed by Qassim's supporters on 15 July, 1958.

I haven't heard of the book you mention, but maybe you read something (generally unrelated) by Jean Sasson?

http://www.jeansasson.com/princess_trilogy.htm

[mally m]

Oh thanks Octavius, you have given me the correct author - Jean Sasson and I have found it on Play.com. It was titled Mayada: Daughter of Iraq. Where I got "The last Princess of Iraq" from I have no idea! Thanks to you too Mustafa

[MustafaTickl]

I have not read your book, but I see that a critique of it commences "Saddam Hussein and his Ba'ath party seized power and instituted a reign of terror. This book is a powerful witness to the terror and horror wrought by Saddam on the lives and souls of its ordinary citizens."

I am not a fan of Saddam Hussein but during his 24 years as President I was responsible for several major works of construction in Iraq and employed several thousands of Iraqi's of all sorts. For the average Iraqi it was not like that at all.