Customer Reviews

Prince Otto

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The Winds of Wharhalen "Prince Otto" is a great departure from better known Robert Louis Stevenson works. For example, Treasure Island and Kidnapped are adventure stories aimed a young male readers longing for travel and excitement. The Master of Ballentrae and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde explore the dark, sinister side of human nature. In none of these famous works does romance play an important part. "Prince Otto", however, is ultimately a love story, although it may not seem apparent early in the book. The Prince and his wife, Princess Serafina, in their roles as heads of state and royalty, have grown apart from each other. As the story progresses, they undergo momentous transformations as they begin to lose these superficial veneers that mask their humanity. The unlikely catalyst for this transformation is a web of court intrigue that includes power struggles, treachery, and deceit. The story is vividly and beautifully told by the writer, whom I believe is the most readable of 19th century authors.

This is a difficult book to classify. It is certainly not an adventure story (like most other RLS novels) or a mystery. While almost humorous, it is not written as a comedy, and it can only be loosely categorized as a romance. Telling a seemingly serious story, of the downfall of a German prince and the rise of democracy, the tone of the story belies that seriousness and lends itself more to a comedy. The primary characters are foppish and overly dramatic, giving this story the aspect of a satire on the courts of old Europe. Nothing too blatant, but you can't help but get the feel of the author's sarcasm as he describes rough country folk, pampered courtiers, and emotional royalty.

That being said, this does tell a complete and almost fairy tale-like story. As Otto and Seraphina blunder into loosing everything, they wind up gaining even more. A tale of growth, love, and shedding the petty stuff, PRINCE OTTO has all the makings of a serious story with worthwhile lessons, desperate chances, and a happy ending. Throw in Stevenson's not-quite-satirical prose and the not-quite-respectable characters and you've got a curiously light-hearted read with a dangerously serious plot. Here's respect to Stevenson for pulling off this unexpected and uniquely entertaining novel.

Recommended for those that enjoy something different every now and then.

What a let down of a novel. Interesting to read a great writer floundering when writing another genre. Characters two dimensional, tale contrived, and Stevenson out of his depth when attempting satire. Basically I reckon his heart wasn,t in it and it shows.

I am a great admirer of Robert Louis Stevenson's books, as I find in them some of the greatest adventure stories the human imagination has brought forth. Stevenson's work has a quality that is different from the adventures of most other authors: boyish imagination. When we read something by someone like Alexandre Dumas, the element of adventure is still there, but it is missing something of the "boyishness" or innocence of Stevenson's adventures. Dumas' work was informed by real life interation with people, while Stevenson's work tended to be more from imagination than from experience. His books are the things he wishes he himself could do, but could not because of his tuberculosis.

Now, I came to this book expecting to find the same adventure and imagination that I found in Treasure Island, The Master of Ballantre, Kidnapped, etc., but I was severely dissapointed. Wikipedia said of this book that it was "Stevenson's second full-length narrative, an action romance set in the imaginary Germanic state of Grünewald." This is simply not true. There is no action or adventure in this book. It is a story about Prince Otto of Grunewald, a middle-aged man with a weak characted who is an admitedly poor ruler whose wife rules behind his back by means of Herr von Gondremark, with whom she is widely held to be having an affair. The whole story is basically about the Prince attempting to be a good prince and husband, but failing, the whole time revealing the flaws in his charatcer. While this sounds like a set up for comedy, Stevenson takes a completely serious approach to it, eliminating even that possability of enjoyment.

This book is nothing short of a character study in the manner of Jane Austin. While this is not bad, Stevenson frankly is not nearly so good at it as Austin. This book is not exciting, not funny, and not exceptionally enjoyable. It is missing the most basic element of Stevenson's success: his adventurous imagination. It is very obviously a forced work, and when he tries to give some settings a more "poetic" feel the descriptions he uses are almost comically forced. I am sorry to say anything bad about one of Stevenson's books, but this is simply not a good book, especially when compared to the rest of Stevenson's accomplishments.

Overall Grade: D-