Once I Was a Princess [Paperback]

Jacqueline Pascarl (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 21, 1999

Can you imagine what it would be like to be swept off your feet by a royal prince to live a charmed life in the marble palaces of an oil-rich nation - and then to watch your fairy-tale romance turn into a nightmare of Islamic superstition, isolation, betrayal and abuse? What would you do if you managed to escape your life of torment - and then your children were kidnapped by their own father? This is what happened to Jacqueline Pascarl. In "Once I Was a Princess", Jacqueline recounts her part in this controversial, headline-grabbing international drama with heart-rending honesty.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

After many years of working and commuting between war zones, Jacqueline Pascarl has now settled in her home town of Melbourne, Australia, with her new husband.

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Mainstream (October 21, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1840182776
• ISBN-13: 978-1840182774
• Product Dimensions: 4.3 x 1.1 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,691,017 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One Of the best books I have ever read!, August 12, 2009

By 

Sabrina Rutter (Columbus, IN USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Once I Was a Princess Hb (Hardcover)

WOW! This is one amazing true life story!
Jacqueline takes you through her childhood full of abuse, into her teen years of peace, and then into a nightmare marriage to a Malaysian prince who abused her both physically and mentally.
There is so much to this book that I could go on and on and on... All I can say is this is not a book to passed by if you like to read good books!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very emotional and gripping, September 22, 2006

By 

M. Mukhtar "Moazma" (UK, Manchester) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Once I Was a Princess Hb (Hardcover)

This book is excellent in everyway.
Very detailed. Finally after 14 years she got to meet her children, but she has still lost 14 years of their life. This gives courage to all mothers.
It is written in great detail and covers all aspects of Jacquelines Life.
This book is excellent in everyway. The details of the suffering and the introduction of the malaysian royal family is well described. This book relates and introduces each chapter and story well. There are many small stories broken up in this one big story about a father kidnapping his children and the consequences on the mother and how she builds herself to handle the situation. Also to see what the mother goes through afterwards and other peoples reaction towards her, her rejection and the effects on other relationships is reflected well and very saddening.

Very detailed. This gives courage to all mothers

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A compelling read., August 6, 2008

By 

bookreview (nz) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Once I Was a Princess (Paperback)

Pascarl is one of the most articulate and witty authors whose books I've read. Her story is tragic, attention-grabbing, and poignant. She spends a lonely childhood with a mentally ill mother, bullying classmates, and a sexually abusive "stepfather" figure. It's both frustrating and heartbreaking to read of an insecure teenager desperately trying to create a "normal" family life through marriage, unable to see the warning signs in neon lights that the match would inevitably end in greater pain.

Upon finishing the book, one cannot help but wonder how the "epilogue" of the story turns out. Although very subtle, it is palable that the book is very much a one-sided autobiography. I watched an interview of Pascarl on Youtube where she insists there was no custody fight between her and her first ex-husband. But in the novel she details the legal battle that ends in her victory. Having contradicted herself over this matter, I wonder if there's other questionable details in the book.