A glimpse behind the legend of 'The Sheik', the frightened young man who became the cinematic sex-god of his day.
Emily W Leider traces the extraordinary journey by which a Nobody named Rudolph Gugliemi became a Somebody named Rudolph Valentino - a silver screen legend who forever changed America's idea of "the leading man".
Valentino wasn't just a star, he was a phenomenon - adored by women, despised by men. On-screen, he offered American women a dangerous sexuality unlike anything on offer from their husbands and lovers; in private, his first wife - a lesbian - refused to consummate their marriage.
Gossip and rumour about his early life as a taxi-dancer haunted him, until his untimely death cut short a career that lasted only five years. This book now rehabilitates Valentino's reputation, both as a man and an actor.
