Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #740829 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 486 pages

Synopsis
"A master storyteller. She never fails to leave the reader enthralled." -Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey, author of A Woman of Independent Means From master storyteller Barbara Wood comes a magnificent saga about two sisters from a rich, aristocratic Egyptian family who come of age in postwar Cairo. Inside a beautiful mansion on Virgins of Paradise Street in post-World War II Cairo, Jasmine and Camelia Rasheed grow to womanhood under the watchful eyes of their grandmother and the other women of the prominent Rasheed family. Despite the glamour and elegance of the city, women still wear the veil and live in harems. But as Egypt begins to change, so do Jasmine and Camelia. Rebelling against a society in which the suppression of women is assumed, Jasmine and Camelia embark on turbulent personal and professional voyages of discovery. Cast out of the family, Jasmine travels to America to become a doctor while Camelia sets out to become one of the foremost beledi dancers in the Middle East. Sensuous, spicy, and romantic, Virgins of Paradise is a spellbinding novel set in an exotic and erotic culture.Brilliantly portraying two sisters' search for identity amidst historic change, Wood also conveys a portrait of an ancient nation emerging into the modern era while mired in superstition, magic, and mythology.

Customer Reviews

a great read
Another excellent book by Wood, following the tradition of Domina and Green City in the sun A book that stays with you for ever and that you open its pages again and again to re-read your favourite part...memorable read..

terrific read!
I read this book a few years ago and still tell friends to read it. I got lost in the characters, the story, the setting. It was just a terrific read!