The Prisoner of Zenda (1894)
Mar 5th, 2008 by John
by Anthony Hope
Anthony Hope’s Prisoner of Zenda is a classic swashbuckler in the fun-loving tradition of Rafael Sabatini (Captain Blood, Scaramouche). The book’s enduring success has led to several stage and screen adaptations, including a popular version from 1937 starring Ronald Colman.
It’s easy to see why Prisoner has captured so many imaginations. Hope, in highly readable prose, delivers a thrilling yarn of mistaken identities, doomed romance, daring rescues, and stylish nemeses. There’s a hero named Rudolf, a princess named Flavia, a castle named Zenda, and a moustache-twirling villain named Black Michael. All that one could hope for.
Read the following Amazon.com plot summary. Whether it makes you groan or giddy should tell you all you need to know:
Anthony Hope’s swashbuckling romance transports his English gentleman hero, Rudolf Rassendyll, from a comfortable life in London to fast-moving adventures in Ruritania, a mythical land steeped in political intrigue. Rassendyll bears a striking resemblance to Rudolf Elphberg who is about to be crowned King of Ruritania. When the rival to throne, Black Michael of Strelsau, attempts to seize power by imprisoning Elphberg in the Castle of Zenda, Rassendyll is obliged to impersonate the King to uphold the rightful sovereignty and ensure political stability. Rassendyll endures a trial of strength in his encounters with the notorious Rupert of Hentzau, and a test of a different sort as he grows to love the Princess Flavia.
As deeply as I love serious writers like Joseph Conrad and Walker Percy, one cannot live by brood alone. Prisoner of Zenda is old-fashioned fun, swift and sharp as an Errol Flynn-wielded blade.