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Greatheart
Book by Dell, Ethel M., Cartland, Barbara
247 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1918
About the author
Ethel M. Dell
149 books13 followersEthel M. Dell (2 August 1881 – 19 September 1939) was a British writer of over 30 popular romance novels and several short stories from 1911 to 1939.
Ethel May Dell was born on 2 August 1881 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. Her family was middle class and lived a comfortable life. Ethel Dell was a very shy, quiet girl and was content to be dominated by her family. She began to write stories while very young and many of them were published in popular magazines. Beneath her shy exterior, she had a passionate heart and most of her stories were stories of passion and love set in India and other old British colonial possessions. They were considered to be very racy and her cousins would pull out pencils to try and count up the number of times she used the words: passion, tremble, pant and thrill. Pictures of her are very rare and she was never interviewed by the press.
Ethel Dell worked on a novel for several years, but it was rejected by eight publishers. Finally the publisher T. Fisher Unwin bought the book for their First Novel Library, a series which introduced a writer's first book. This book, entitled The Way of an Eagle, was published in 1911 and by 1915 it had gone through thirty printings.
Her debut novel is very characteristic of Ethel M. Dell's novels. There is a very feminine woman, an alpha male, a setting in India, passion galore liberally mixed with some surprisingly shocking violence and religious sentiments sprinkled throughout.
While readers adored Ethel M. Dell's novels, critics hated them with a passion; but she did not care what the critics thought. She considered herself a good storyteller – nothing more and nothing less. Ethel M. Dell continued to write novels for a number of years. She made quite a lot of money, from £20,000 to £30,000 a year, but remained quiet and almost pathologically shy.
In 1922, Ethel Dell married a soldier, Lieutenant-Colonel Gerald Tahourdin Savage, when she was forty years old, and the marriage was happy. Colonel Savage resigned his commission on his marriage and Ethel Dell became the support of the family. Her husband devoted himself to her and fiercely guarded her privacy. For her part she went on writing, eventually producing about thirty novels and several volumes of short stories. Ethel's married name is recorded as Ethel Mary Savage.
Ethel M. Dell died of cancer on 19 September 1939, at 58.
(from Wikipedia)
Ethel May Dell was born on 2 August 1881 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. Her family was middle class and lived a comfortable life. Ethel Dell was a very shy, quiet girl and was content to be dominated by her family. She began to write stories while very young and many of them were published in popular magazines. Beneath her shy exterior, she had a passionate heart and most of her stories were stories of passion and love set in India and other old British colonial possessions. They were considered to be very racy and her cousins would pull out pencils to try and count up the number of times she used the words: passion, tremble, pant and thrill. Pictures of her are very rare and she was never interviewed by the press.
Ethel Dell worked on a novel for several years, but it was rejected by eight publishers. Finally the publisher T. Fisher Unwin bought the book for their First Novel Library, a series which introduced a writer's first book. This book, entitled The Way of an Eagle, was published in 1911 and by 1915 it had gone through thirty printings.
Her debut novel is very characteristic of Ethel M. Dell's novels. There is a very feminine woman, an alpha male, a setting in India, passion galore liberally mixed with some surprisingly shocking violence and religious sentiments sprinkled throughout.
While readers adored Ethel M. Dell's novels, critics hated them with a passion; but she did not care what the critics thought. She considered herself a good storyteller – nothing more and nothing less. Ethel M. Dell continued to write novels for a number of years. She made quite a lot of money, from £20,000 to £30,000 a year, but remained quiet and almost pathologically shy.
In 1922, Ethel Dell married a soldier, Lieutenant-Colonel Gerald Tahourdin Savage, when she was forty years old, and the marriage was happy. Colonel Savage resigned his commission on his marriage and Ethel Dell became the support of the family. Her husband devoted himself to her and fiercely guarded her privacy. For her part she went on writing, eventually producing about thirty novels and several volumes of short stories. Ethel's married name is recorded as Ethel Mary Savage.
Ethel M. Dell died of cancer on 19 September 1939, at 58.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 23, 2012
This book is not full of adventure, or passionate romance. I couldn't use the words "exciting" or "humorous" to describe it. But, I loved it. Absolutely loved it.
It's free on Kindle and a friend recommended it (Thanks Nicole!). I had to go look up Ethel M. Dell. According to the source of all knowledge, Wikipedia, Dell was a quiet, shy lady who lived between the 1880s and 1930s. She got married when she was forty and still remained very private. The critics railed on her books, saying they were trash, but the fans ignored them and Ethel made quite a living on her romance novels. Apparently they were very racy for her time period.
This was one of the first stories that she wrote. It's a story of a boy and a girl. Dinah and her brother have never traveled far from home and are thrilled when they a neighborly family takes them on vacation in the Alps. Dinah is a bubbly, bright girl that radiates happiness and kindness. As the story unfolds though, it is discovered that she comes from an abusive background and a tyrannical mother. Still, she has a natural happiness that warms others.
She connects with another vacationing family in the Alps. Eustace, Scott and Isabel are all siblings. Isabel is suffering mentally and physically from the death of her husband and one true love. Her older brother, Eustace is the boss of the family. He is described as an "Apollo." He's handsome, arrogant and always gets his way. Scott is the younger brother. He is described in the story as short ("a small man") and has a limp. Immediately though, it is apparent who is the stronger of the two. Scott is kind and courteous always. Someone who always thinks of others and takes the higher road. It is he that first meets Dinah and they begin a great friendship. Dinah also helps pull Isabel out of her depression. In the meantime Eustace has fallen for Dinah's imp-like charm and proposes marriage to her.
Dinah is at first thrilled to be getting out of her horrible home and in awe that the handsome "Apollo" would pay attention to her, but as time goes on, she starts to realize that there is more to life than appearances.
I'm not sure I could say exactly why I loved this story so much. It was very sweet and tender to me. At the beginning you can guess what way the story is headed, but it was still so sweet. I like the style of writing. It has an almost whimsical quality to it. Typical of the era, it is slower paced, but it flows nicely.
I love the characters. They don't seem fake to me. I cared about them and wanted them to be happy. I loved Scott. Loved him. His tender care of everyone truly makes him a "Greatheart" which is what Dinah nicknames him, because he is always looking out for others. I like what it teaches us about what true love is. Love is not dependent on outward appearances and adornments, it is something that comes from the heart. And true love, the deepest love there could be, is when you love someone enough to choose their happiness over yours.
While it is not in any way a religious book, there were a few sections that talked about the love God has for each of us. I found myself feeling closer to God reading this book than I have in a while. It touched me to my core.
Even though it had a whimsical quality, the overall feeling was that this story could be true. It could happen. The feelings and experiences were very real. It made me feel hopeful. Even though life is hard, there are good moments and there are people that are quietly going about making it a little brighter for all of us.
I'm going to have to try and read some more of her books.
It's free on Kindle and a friend recommended it (Thanks Nicole!). I had to go look up Ethel M. Dell. According to the source of all knowledge, Wikipedia, Dell was a quiet, shy lady who lived between the 1880s and 1930s. She got married when she was forty and still remained very private. The critics railed on her books, saying they were trash, but the fans ignored them and Ethel made quite a living on her romance novels. Apparently they were very racy for her time period.
This was one of the first stories that she wrote. It's a story of a boy and a girl. Dinah and her brother have never traveled far from home and are thrilled when they a neighborly family takes them on vacation in the Alps. Dinah is a bubbly, bright girl that radiates happiness and kindness. As the story unfolds though, it is discovered that she comes from an abusive background and a tyrannical mother. Still, she has a natural happiness that warms others.
She connects with another vacationing family in the Alps. Eustace, Scott and Isabel are all siblings. Isabel is suffering mentally and physically from the death of her husband and one true love. Her older brother, Eustace is the boss of the family. He is described as an "Apollo." He's handsome, arrogant and always gets his way. Scott is the younger brother. He is described in the story as short ("a small man") and has a limp. Immediately though, it is apparent who is the stronger of the two. Scott is kind and courteous always. Someone who always thinks of others and takes the higher road. It is he that first meets Dinah and they begin a great friendship. Dinah also helps pull Isabel out of her depression. In the meantime Eustace has fallen for Dinah's imp-like charm and proposes marriage to her.
Dinah is at first thrilled to be getting out of her horrible home and in awe that the handsome "Apollo" would pay attention to her, but as time goes on, she starts to realize that there is more to life than appearances.
I'm not sure I could say exactly why I loved this story so much. It was very sweet and tender to me. At the beginning you can guess what way the story is headed, but it was still so sweet. I like the style of writing. It has an almost whimsical quality to it. Typical of the era, it is slower paced, but it flows nicely.
I love the characters. They don't seem fake to me. I cared about them and wanted them to be happy. I loved Scott. Loved him. His tender care of everyone truly makes him a "Greatheart" which is what Dinah nicknames him, because he is always looking out for others. I like what it teaches us about what true love is. Love is not dependent on outward appearances and adornments, it is something that comes from the heart. And true love, the deepest love there could be, is when you love someone enough to choose their happiness over yours.
While it is not in any way a religious book, there were a few sections that talked about the love God has for each of us. I found myself feeling closer to God reading this book than I have in a while. It touched me to my core.
Even though it had a whimsical quality, the overall feeling was that this story could be true. It could happen. The feelings and experiences were very real. It made me feel hopeful. Even though life is hard, there are good moments and there are people that are quietly going about making it a little brighter for all of us.
I'm going to have to try and read some more of her books.
August 19, 2023
Dinah Bathurst comes from a terribly abusive home. She believes her only means of escape is by getting married, which explains why she gets so involved with Eustace Studley so quickly. What I couldn't fathom was why Eustace - as well as his brother, Scott - gets so involved with Dinah. She has the personality of a dishrag. I think she's around nineteen years old but acts so childish. I felt sorry for Dinah when she was getting the snot beat out of her but otherwise I had no use for her.
February 9, 2026
Garbage
drivel
dreck
The cover is amazing but there's something oddly wrong with her right hand...
"For we're not coming back from our honeymoon till you have learnt that I am the only person in the world that matters."
drivel
dreck
The cover is amazing but there's something oddly wrong with her right hand...
"For we're not coming back from our honeymoon till you have learnt that I am the only person in the world that matters."
June 6, 2019
Cute “old” romance. I had never heard of Ethel M. Dell before. This version was edited by Barbara Cartland in her Library of Love series. Not of Fan I’ve love triangles.
Read
July 1, 2024A blend of spicy romance and religion that I have never encountered before. I liked the characters more than the story. I'm glad I read it. My world is richer for knowing them, especially the protagonist, Dinah.
June 17, 2012
You know how you felt as a child when you ate far too many Easter Eggs? That's exactly how I felt while reading this, and yes, just like the chocolate, I still carried on. Not one single element of any of the characters was credible. The feisty teenage elf, the cold proud beauty, the masterful passionate lover, the faithful Oirish maid.....marry these to a ridiculous plot and the sort of purple passage that Stella Gibbons would mark with asterisks, and you have 'Greatheart'. It really is total tripe. Everyone should read one Ethel M Dell novel as a rite of passage. You'll never want a creme egg again.
May 28, 2023
This is a longtime favorite of mine.
I am always a little disappointed at how the love triangle played out, but the rather winding story holds a great many twists and turns and I never cease to delight in the way in which the characters influence each other's development.
I am always a little disappointed at how the love triangle played out, but the rather winding story holds a great many twists and turns and I never cease to delight in the way in which the characters influence each other's development.
July 2, 2013
This is the unabridged, Project Gutenberg, edition. (There is an edition on Goodreads that was abridged by Barbara Cartland.)
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews