Driving the Saudis
A Chauffeur's Tale of the World's Richest Princesses (plus Their Servants, Nannies, and One Royal Hairdresser)
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Driving the Saudis
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Narrated by:
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Jayne Amelia Larson
About this listen
After more than a decade of working in Hollywood, actress Jayne Amelia Larson found herself out of luck, out of work, and out of prospects. Without telling her friends or family, she took a job as a limousine driver, thinking that the work might be a good way to dig out of debt while meeting A-list celebrities and important movie moguls. When she got hired to drive for the Saudi royal family vacationing in Beverly Hills, Larson thought she’d been handed the golden ticket. She’d heard stories of the Saudis giving $20,000 tips and Rolex watches to their drivers. But when the family arrived at LAX with millions of dollars in cash, Larson realized that she might be in for the ride of her life.
With awestruck humor and deep compassion, she describes her eye-opening adventures as the only female in a detail of over 40 assigned to drive a beautiful Saudi princess, her family, and their extensive entourage. To be a good chauffeur means to be a “fly on the wall”, to never speak unless spoken to, to never ask questions, to allow people to forget that you are there. The nature of the employment - Larson was on call 24 hours a day and 7 days a week - and the fact that she was the only female driver gave her an up close and personal view of one of the most closely guarded monarchies in the world, a culture of great intrigue and contradiction, and of unimaginable wealth.
The Saudis traveled large: They brought furniture, Persian rugs, Limoges china, lustrous silver serving trays, and extraordinary coffees and teas from around the world. The family and their entourage stayed at several luxury hotels, occupying whole floors of each. Each day the royal women spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on plastic surgery and mega-shopping sprees on Rodeo Drive. Even the tea setup had its very own hotel room, while the servants were crammed together on rollaway beds in just a few small rooms down the hall.
Larson witnessed plenty of drama: hundreds of hours of cosmetic surgery recovery, the purchasing of Hermes Birkin bags of every color, roiling battles among the upper-echelon entourage members all jockeying for a better position in the palace hierarchy, and the total disregard that most of the royal entourage had for their exhausted staff. But Driving the Saudis also reveals how Larson grew to understand the complicated nuances of a society whose strict customs remain intact even across continents. She saw the intimate bond that connected the royals with their servants and nannies; she befriended the young North African servant girls, who supported whole families back home by working night and day for the royals but were not permitted to hold their own passports lest they try to flee. While experiencing a life-changing “behind the veil” glimpse into Saudi culture, Larson ultimately discovers that we’re all very much the same everywhere - the forces that corrupt us, make us desperate, and make us human are surprisingly universal.
©2012 Jayne Amelia Larson (P)2013 Audible Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about Driving the Saudis
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Jillybuns
- 15-07-15
Interesting journey into how the other half lives!
This was a very pleasant read & offered insight to the secret lives of Saudi women. Would have liked to have learnt more!
Larsons narration is extremely professional and a pleasure to listen to.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- balzar
- 20-01-19
Very entertaining
A very good and logical story. The atmosphere of heat and general pandemonium in Baghdad after the retreat of the Turks in WWI is wonderfully evoked - you get quite thirsty just reading this! The hero is very well described - you really feel you know him
The details about the trains and railways are fascinating - in fact I only got this after watching Andrew Martin's television programme about forgotten trains of Britain.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- S
- 08-09-16
Unexpected little gem
What did you like most about Driving the Saudis?
I purchased this book on a whim, I didnt know what to expect but it definately exceeded my expectations and more. Not only was it a great insight into the lives of Saudi princesses and their entourage when the spend time in LA, but also the work of the people who chauffeur them around during their stay.
What did you like best about this story?
Ive read a lot of books about Saudi princesses and their lives in their home country but it was interesting to see how they live in a country which is not their own, one with very different morals to their home.
Have you listened to any of Jayne Amelia Larson’s other performances? How does this one compare?
Ive not listened to any of her performances before, but this was well written and well read so I would certainly listen to anything else she may do.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
There was a piece about a young girl who was due to enter an arranged marriage on her return home and it was rather moving to hear how she was viewing places she may never get the chance to see again.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rob
- 22-12-22
Enjoyed
I enjoyed the book. An insight into the Saudi royals and the people that serve them.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- christian stephenson
- 20-04-21
Enjoyable
I enjoyed this book. Good storyline and narrators voice a pleasure to listen too. Overall an enjoyable read.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Hedgehog
- 16-05-20
Interesting insight into Saudi Royals
Interesting insight into the Royals also telling us about the way the servants who are with the family members 24/7 are treated. I felt very sorry for them after reading about their 17 hour days looking after the spoilt Royal family members. An unexpected twist at the end on departing the working stint regarding money for the work the author had undertaken and also a nice happier twist again at the end for her - which clearly inspired her to write this book.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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- Moni P
- 20-11-20
compared to other books available, really boring
compared to other books available, really boring, wouldn't waste my time. there are more insightful ones available.
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