When first published in 1904 this grand tale of adventure by a young English woman traveling alone in the Sahara Desert was regarded as a titillating piece of literature. Today Robert Hichen's epic novel continues to enchant and intrigue readers with its dark mystery and rich cultural backdrop - Algeria's hot sultry climate, noisy cities, and exotic evenings. The Garden of Allah was the basis for three films. The first two were silent films. The third was an Academy Award winner produced by David O. Selznick in 1936 and starring Marlene Dietrich, Charles Boyer, and Basil Rathbone. ROBERT HICHENS (1864-1950) was an English novelist and writer of short stories, some of which were early tales of fantasy and the supernatural. The Garden of Allah was not his only work to see the silver screen: in 1947 Alfred Hitchcock produced a movie based on his book The Paradine Case.