From a comfortable middle-class background, Dell had begun to write stories while she was still a child, even having some success in getting them published in popular magazines. She was educated at Streatham College for Girls in London. Her first novel, The Way of the Eagle took several years to produce and was rejected by a number of publishers until finally being accepted in 1911. By 1915, the book had gone through twenty-seven printings and was a best-selling commercial success. She would go on to write over 30 novels and numerous short stories which made her one of the most successful woman writers of the early 20th century. In spite of this, Dell led a very reclusive life and after her marriage in 1921 to Lieutenant-Colonel George Savage, moved to rural Hampshire. In 1929, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and after what was thought to be a successful operation, they moved to Winchester. When war broke out in 1939, her husband was recalled to service and they moved to Hertford where it was discovered that the cancer had returned. She died shortly thereafter. Her many works include Greatheart (1912), Keeper of the Door (1915), Bars of Iron (1916), Lamp in the Desert (1919), Verses (1923), Unknown Quantity (1924), House of Happiness and Other Stories (1927), Altar of Honour (1929), Storm Drift (1930), Live Bait and Other Stories (1932), Where Three Roads Meet (1935), The Juice of the Pomegranate (1938) and Sown Among Thorns. |
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