Ethel May Dell (1881-1939) was a British writer of popular romance novels who produced about thirty novels and several volumes of short stories. Her stories are often full of passion and love and are set in India and other British colonial possessions. She worked on her first novel, The Way of an Eagle, for several years, until it was finally published in 1911. The public loved it and the book was hugely popular. Her other works include the bestselling Greatheart (1912), The Bars of Iron (1916) and Hundredth Chance (1917). When published in 1912, Greatheart proved enormously popular and its popularity grew over the following years. According to the New York Times it was the bestselling novel in the United States in 1918.