''Bella Donna'' is a 1909 British romance novel by the British writer Robert Hichens.Kotowski p.55

Summary

A flighty young Englishwoman marries an

Egyptologist Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , '' -logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious ...

. Once on the

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

site she falls for a suave Egyptian, and plots to do away with her husband.

Reception

It was listed among the top six bestselling books in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in the December 1909 (ranked sixth) and January 1910 (ranked second) issues of '' The Bookman''.Best Selling Books
'' The Bookman'', December 1909, p. 434Best Selling Books
'' The Bookman'', January 1910, p. 546

Adaptations

It has been made into films on four occasions: * ''Bella Donna'' (1915 film), an American silent film starring

Pauline Frederick Pauline Frederick (born Pauline Beatrice Libbey, August 12, 1883 – September 19, 1938) was an American stage and film actress. Early life Frederick was born Pauline Beatrice Libbey (later changed to Libby) in Boston in 1883 (some sources stat ...

* ''Bella Donna'' (1923 film), an American silent film starring

Pola Negri Pola Negri (; born Apolonia Chalupec ; 3 January 1897 – 1 August 1987) was a Polish stage and film actress and singer. She achieved worldwide fame during the silent and golden eras of Hollywood and European film for her tragedienne and femme ...

* ''Bella Donna'' (1934 film), a British film starring

Conrad Veidt Hans Walter Conrad Veidt (; 22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German film actor who attracted early attention for his roles in the films ''Different from the Others'' (1919), '' The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (1920), and ''The Man Who Laugh ...

* ''Temptation'' (1946 film), an American film starring

Merle Oberon Merle Oberon (born Estelle Merle O'Brien Thompson; 19 February 191123 November 1979) was a British actress who began her film career in British films as Anne Boleyn in ''The Private Life of Henry VIII'' (1933). After her success in ''The Scarle ...

References

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. 1909 British novels Novels by Robert Hichens British romance novels British novels adapted into films Novels set in Egypt {{1900s-romance-novel-stub