The Sheik [Paperback]

E. M. Hull (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2001

Diana Mayo is young, beautiful, wealthy—and independent. Bored by the eligible bachelors and endless parties of the English aristocracy, she arranges for a horseback trek through the Algerian desert. Two days into her adventure, Diana is kidnapped by the powerful Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan, who forces her into submission. Diana tries desperately to resist but finds herself falling in love with this dark and handsome stranger. Only when a rival chieftain steals Diana away does the Sheik realize that what he feels for her is more than mere passion. He has been conquered—and risks everything to get her back. The power of love reaches across the desert sands, leading to the thrilling and unexpected conclusion.

One of the most widely read novels of the 1920s, and forever fixed in the popular imagination in the film version starring the irresistible Rudolph Valentino, The Sheik is recognized as the immediate precursor to the modern romance novel. When first published there was nothing like it: To readers the story was scandalous, exotic, and all-consuming; to such critics as the New York Times the book was "shocking," although written with "a high degree of literary skill." In the author's native England, the bestselling book was labeled "poisonously salacious" by the Literary Review and banned from some communities. But the public kept reading.

The influence of The Sheik on romance writers and readers continues to resonate. Despite controversy over its portrayal of sexual exploitation as a means to love, The Sheik remains a popular classic for its representation of the social order of its time, capturing contemporary attitudes toward colonialism as well as female power and independence that still strike a chord with readers today.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This was the first real romance novel I ever read and it changed my life."—Jayne Ann Krentz

"The Sheik . . . continues to be an outstanding and highly recommended romance novel for a whole new generation of readers."—Bookwatch

About the Author

E. M. Hull was the pseudonym of Edith Maude Winstanley.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Pine Street Books (May 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812217632
• ISBN-13: 978-0812217636
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,066,334 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The first romance novel..., October 28, 2005

By 

Jazz It Up Baby - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Sheik (Paperback)

The book behind the famed 1922 movie starring Rudolph Valentino was in itself a major event, for it was the very first of the genre now known as the romance novel. An instant best-seller, its steamy and suggestive plot caused much controversy. In brief, Diana Mayo is a beautiful willful, tomboyish, aristocratic Briton with a taste for adventure who goes off on a lark for a month in the Algerian desert. She is abducted by the handsome, ferocious, barbaric, sophisticated tribal leader Ahmed ben Hassan, who ensconces her in his luxurious tents in mid-desert and ravishes her. Diana abominates her captor for two months, then falls madly in love with him. Along the way, she experiences a host of adventures, including getting captured and almost killed by Ahmed ben Hassan's hereditary enemy. Oh, and at the end we learn that Ahmed ben Hassan is really half-Spanish and half-British, and of noble birth on both sides.

Well written and fun to read eight decades on for its exoticism and over-the-top romance, The Sheik is both reflects and perpetuates the absurd clichés of its age about Arabs. "She was utterly in his power and at his mercy - the mercy of an Arab who was merciless." "He was an Arab, to whom the feelings of a woman were non existent." Asked if he loves anything, the sheikh replies, "Yes, I do. I love my horses." "That he was an Arab with Oriental instincts filled her with continual dread." "When an Arab sees a woman that he wants he takes her." And this, said by the sheikh to Diana: "We teach our women obedience with a whip." In addition to these many comments on male-female relations, the novel also contains a smattering of other prejudices typical of its time ("the pungent smell of the native" and the like).

(...)

79 of 95 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Interesting relic, little more, August 23, 2001

By 

Gwen Kramer "gwenhwyvar" (Sunny and not-so-sunny California) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Sheik (Paperback)

I rather enjoyed the kitchy Valentino film based on this book so I decied to check it out. Also, I was curious to read a "scandalous" best seller from 1919.

What annoyed me was the instant about face of the heroine's principals. One page, she is a confident feminist. The next, she is breathless, whimpering and whining, deeply in love with an extremely abusive and domineering man.

I am all for old fashioned romance but this seems a bit much.

There is no catylist for this change in attitude, one minute Diana hates the Sheik's guts and them about halfway through, he shoots her horse out from under her and she figures that she can't live without him. This is especially disappointing since other passages in the book are psychologically accurate. The descriptions of post traumatic stress are realistic.

The prose is another problem. The book starts with readable prose but then descends into purple slush. I noticed that the author has about ten pet words that are used over and over again. (savage, brutal, cruel, slim, boyish, mutinous) I had a good time opening the book at random and finding one of these words. (This works about 95% of the time)

Also, can a book really be so good that pretty much advocates attempted suicide as a means to getting Mr. Right? I think not! The fact that this story is blessing a rather abusive relationship is in itself distressing. The title character is selfish, unpleasant and a general boor and I fail to see why he would be considered such a catch.

I realize I will be accused of being a rabid feminist (and get a flurry of NOT HELPFUL votes, all negative reviews do and its a bit sad since I'm voicing my opinion just like everyone else) but the truth of the matter is this: I demand psychological accuracy and interesting characters from the books I read. Almost any other sin can be forgiven. I love melodrama as much as the next girl but this book was way out there in terms of oddness.

This is an interesting period piece but most certainly not something I would normally read.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Good grief, May 23, 2008

By 

Anathema (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sheik (Paperback)

This book is absolutely horrifying.

I checked it out on Project Gutenberg, because I'd heard a lot about the Valentino movie and wanted to read the book on which it was based. What I hadn't known beforehand was that, while Valentino's Sheik didn't carry out his plans for Diana, book-Sheik did. More than once. Over about a month. That was horrifying discovery number one, but it only got worse from there. While at first Diana quite rightly hates him, halfway through the book she suddenly changes her mind and decides she's in love with him and couldn't ever live without him.

I don't know where to even start with all the other things wrong with this book. The fact that Diana goes from a confident, independent woman to a stereotypical weak, weepy heroine annoyed the hell out of me, and the fact that she was willing to utterly efface herself in an effort to please the Sheik just made it so much worse. She sits there and pathetically pines for his love, which to me was a completely contrived change of character on the part of the author.

It could easily be read as a classic case of Stockholm Syndrome, but as nobody knew what that was in 1919, that can't have been Hull's intent. Had it actually been presented that way, it would have been a lot easier to swallow, but it really was meant to be a complete 'change of heart' story--the taming (or, more accurately, breaking) of a strong, independent woman into a docile, obedient twit. I don't find that in the least romantic, just sickening.

All in all, the book disturbed me immensely. The movie handled it much better, since it's much easier to sympathise with Diana's sudden love for the Sheik, who himself is proven to be a noble character. Throw rape into the equation and it just turns into an unbelievable, psychologically terrible mess.