Episode 59: Somebody’s Gonna Be First (Aha Sheik Heartbreak #1): The Sheik by E. M. Hull

Back in the center ring, as promised, for the first of many sheik downs. To kick things off, Morgan and Isabeau crack the OG model for so-called “desert romance”, E. M. Hull’s 1919 novel The Sheik; and like any good origin story, it’s fraught with power and contradiction. Can a novel with such a damaging socio-political cache be redeemed by the resonant impact it has on the evolution of genre and reader interest? Or is it time we go cold turkey on this particular blend of hand-rolled erotica? We’re in this for the long haul y’all so make sure you layer up: it gets pretty cold at night.

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