E. M. Hull

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Between 1919 and 1939 EMH produced seven novels, among them her three famous desert romances, and one travel book. Her first novel, the ground-breaking desert romance The Sheik, virtually established the conventions of the genre. It became a huge best-seller, as well as a highly successful Hollywoodfilm starring Rudolph Valentino . EMH 's novels tend to feature exotic settings and romance between much older men and the women they eventually win to love them.
  • BirthName: Edith
    Romance critic Rachel Anderson states that EMH 's real name was Ethel, but all other sources give Edith.
    Anderson, Rachel. The Purple Heart Throbs. Hodder and Stoughton, 1974.
    185
    Maud Henderson
  • Nickname: Diana
    This, says Anderson , was the name that EMH preferred to go by.
    Anderson, Rachel. The Purple Heart Throbs. Hodder and Stoughton, 1974.
    185

  • Married: Winstanley Hull
Black-and-white photograph of a drawing of E.M. Hull. She is shown from the shoulders up, wearing circular, wire-rimmed spectacles, and her hair rolled loosely on top of her head.

Milestones

16 August 1880

Edith Maud Henderson (later EMH ) was born in London, at 28 Marlborough Hill, her parents' only daughter.
Matthew, Henry Colin Gray et al., editors. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. http://www.oxforddnb.com/.

1919

EMH published her first novel, the best-selling desert romance, The Sheik. This book first put the desert on the map as being a good place for sex.
Anderson, Rachel. The Purple Heart Throbs. Hodder and Stoughton, 1974.
184
Matthew, Henry Colin Gray et al., editors. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. http://www.oxforddnb.com/.

11 February 1947

After a short illness, EMH died at her home: Holmeside, Hazelwood, Derbyshire.
Matthew, Henry Colin Gray et al., editors. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. http://www.oxforddnb.com/.

Biography

Birth and Background

16 August 1880

Edith Maud Henderson (later EMH ) was born in London, at 28 Marlborough Hill, her parents' only daughter.
Matthew, Henry Colin Gray et al., editors. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. http://www.oxforddnb.com/.

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