I think it’s still an interesting point, and there are certainly a lot of cultural prejudices and stereotypes that aren’t explicitly spelled out in the text. Since Glencaryll is a fictional name, we can’t say for certain if the family would have been English, or Scots, or English with a Scottish holding… But the perception of Scotsmen as exotic and virile is certainly a factor in the Highlander romance sub-genre, and I’d be curious to see what themes from Hull resurface might resurface in those books.

No, maybe I was making assumptions about Glencaryll. I did a quick search and can’t see anything saying he’s Scottish, and you’re right that it’s explicitly stated that the sheik hates the English.

Good catch, I probably glossed over the Scottish name as “general British/UK,” especially since the text makes such a big deal about the Sheik having out for the English on account of his English father. But you’re right — the Earl of Glencaryll has a definite Scots ring to it. I’d guess that Hull’s generation grew up with the historical romances of Robert Louis Stevenson… The development of ideas and stereotypes about the Scotsman in British popular culture is one of many topics I wish I had time to read more about!

I think it’s a Scottish earl, and Scots (see lots of current historical romances by US authors) have tended to be depicted as more primitive/savage/barbarian in contrast to the English. The sheik’s mother is Spanish, and (see lots of current contemporary romances by British authors) European people from around the Mediterranean are often depicted as more fiery/passionate than northern Europeans. Throw in the 1899 racial opinions of William Z. Ripley about how Africa begins at the Pyrenees and it seems that the ending swaps one version of exotic fetishization for a couple of slightly milder ones.