The works of Gertrude Bell, Freya Stark and Sir Richard Burton opened her mind's eye to the fascinations and mysteries of the Middle East, and those first musings led to her writing success. Lawrence ('Lawrence of Arabia'), satisfy her two literary loves, history and travel. Other historic figures, like Napoleon Bonaparte and T.E. Heading that list is Sir Winston Churchill, the prolific writer and leader of Britain in the dark years of World War II. Her literary tastes are widely varied, and she has a long list of favorites. Sam Jackson, her beloved literature teacher, soon noticed Jean's preoccupation and took it upon herself to make weekly trips to a nearby college library to exchange a selection of books to satisfy Jean's reading needs.Īnd today? When not absorbed in writing or the business of being a celebrated author, she reads and reads, maybe a book a day-literary success has enabled her to buy a variety of books no longer selected by the number of pages. She wanted a good read and she wanted value for money, so she decided that the best option for her limited budget was to purchase the book with the most pages.Īt school Mrs. She then started her book collection when she bought her first book, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William Shirer-an unusual choice for a young girl from the Deep South.

At fourteen she started saving her small allowance until she had enough to purchase a book. By the beginning of her teens had read every book in the school library. From the time she could read, she was a voracious reader.

Jane sasson