Bella Donna (novel)

Bella Donna
AuthorRobert Hichens
LanguageEnglish
GenreDrama
Publication date1909
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint

Bella Donna is a 1909 British decadent novel by the British writer Robert Hichens.[1]

Summary

Mrs. Chepstow, a disreputable English divorcée, marries Mr. Armine, an Egyptologist, much to the chagrin of the latter's friend, the Jewish physician Dr. Isaacson. Once on the archaeological site Mrs. Armine falls for Mahmoud Baroudi, a suave Egyptian prince, and plots to do away with her husband.

Reception

It was listed among the top six bestselling books in the United States in the December 1909 (ranked sixth) and January 1910 (ranked second) issues of The Bookman.[2][3]

Adaptations

Film

Stage

Alla Nazimova in Bella Donna, published in The Sketch (1913)

In 1912, a stage adaptation of Hitchens's novel, written by James Bernard Fagan premiered in New York. The production starred Alla Nazimova.[4].

References

  1. ↑ Kotowski p.55
  2. ↑ Best Selling Books, The Bookman, December 1909, p. 434
  3. ↑ Best Selling Books, The Bookman, January 1910, p. 546
  4. ↑ Neale, Walter (1913). Neal's Monthly. Neale Publishing Company.

Bibliography

  • Goble, Alan. The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter, 1999.
  • Kotowski, Mariusz. Pola Negri: Hollywood's First Femme Fatale. University Press of Kentucky, 2014.