Ethel M. Dell


Ethel May Dell Savage, known by her pen name, Ethel M. Dell, was a British writer of over 30 popular romance novels and several short stories from 1911 to 1939.

Biography

Dell was born on 2 August 1881 to a middle class family in Streatham, a suburb of London, England. Her father was a clerk in the City of London and she had an older sister and brother. Dell began to write stories while very young and many of them were published in popular magazines. Her stories were mainly romantic in nature, set in the British Raj and other old British colonial possessions. Her stories were considered by some to be overly sexual. Her cousins were known to tally the number of times she used the words passion, tremble, pant and thrill.
Dell worked on The Way of an Eagle, her first novel, for several years, finally publishing it under T. Fisher Unwin after being rejected eight times by other publishers. The book was included in Unwin's First Novel Library, a series which highlighted a writer's first book. The Way of an Eagle was published in 1911 and had gone through thirty printings by 1915.
In 1922, Ethel married a soldier, Lieutenant-Colonel Gerald Tahourdin Savage, who resigned his commission at his marriage, making Dell the sole support of the family. Despite unfavorable reviews from critics, she developed a strong fan base, earning from £20,000 to £30,000 a year. Her husband devoted himself to her and fiercely guarded her privacy. Dell continued writing, eventually producing about thirty novels and several volumes of short stories over the course of her life.
Dell died of cancer on 17 September 1939 at age 58.
Pictures of her are very rare and she was never interviewed by the press.

Single novels

The Way of an Eagle The Knave of Diamonds The Rocks of Valpré The Bars of Iron The Hundredeth Chance – also as The Hundredth ChanceThe Rose of Dawn Greatheart The Lamp in the Desert The Desire of His Life The Top of the World The Obstacle Race The Knight-Errant Charles Rex Verses Tetherstones The Unknown Quantity A Man Under Authority The Black Knight The Gate Marked Private The Altar of Honour Storm Drift The Silver Bride The Silver Wedding Storm Drift Dona Celestis The Prison Wall The Electric Torch Where Three Roads Meet Honeyball Farm The Juice of the Pomegranate The Serpent in the Garden
  • ''Sown Among Thorns''

The Keeper of the Door Series

  1. The Keeper of the Door
  2. By Request – U.S. title ''Peggy by Request''

Omnibus collections

The Safety Curtain and Other Stories Includes:The Tidal Wave and Other Stories Includes:The Odds and Other Stories Includes:The Swindler and Other Stories Includes:The Passer-By and Other Stories Includes:The House of Happiness and Other Stories The Live Bait and Other Stories
Additional, uncertain titles found in some lists:The Princess's Game
  • ''Pullman''

Filmography