Customer Reviews

The Prisoner of Zenda

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a great story, full of action and intrigue, with very believable characters. The villains earned my scorn and the story unfolded well with plenty of cliff-hangers and foiled plans that added well to the suspense.

I had to slow down a couple times when I didn't pick up early that Black Michael, the duke, and the King's brother are all the same person, but that was more due to my reading it quickly than to the author's style.

The message of honor and true love rings true when contrasted with believable descriptions of scoundrels and rakes in it for themselves. There were also very good swordfights, both with steel and wit. Entertaining all the way to the end.

I have been an avaricious reader since I was in the second grade; a bout of mononucleosis and the discovery of the Hardy boys in the third grade sealed the deal for me, and I have been reading furiously ever since. This book, perhaps more than any other I had read in those formative years, thrilled me to my bones and forged me into a lifelong committed adventure reader. They say you never forget your first love, and I have never forgotten the Prisoner of Zenda. It has EVERYTHING a young boy could desire in an adventure book: travel to a distant country, nefarious villains, royalty, beautiful damsels, dashing military officers accoutered with flashing sabers and charging steeds, castles, kidnappings, escapes, swashbuckling....my knees buckle a little bit just thinking about it again. This book literally imprinted me for everything I have read in the genre since then and stirred in me a desire for travel and adventure that has led me all around the globe several times in my life. I do not think it is a stretch to say that this book may very well have changed the course of my life, nudging me into certain dreams and hopes that I have happily chased ever since. I've ordered it today, desiring to read it again and compare it to my 8 year old memories of it, but, more importantly, I also wish to present it to my son and hope it opens the world to him the same way it did for me.

Being in my mid-fifties, I initially thought this book would be too silly for me. Boy, was I wrong! Not only is the text fast-paced and thoroughly engaging, it is splendedly written in a style befitting the aristocratic adventure-romance it portrays.

Somewhere between Don Quixote and Harlequin novels, "Prisoner" offers an affirmation of the noble in each of us, particularly in our own day of ethically-flat efficiency.

This is an excellent novel by Sir Anthony Hope. I first read it at school as a young man and I loved it. I particularly enjoyed the fast moving action which kept me wanting to read more and more to see how this remarkable story unfolds. I rediscovered this book at a second hand book recently and immediately grabbed it. Reading it again confirms that this is a timeless adventure classic novel.

This is a fantastic adventure novel that is well written and has a very interesting storyline. This is recommended reading for adventure lovers.

The Prisoner of Zenda, Anthony Hope

Rudolf Rassendyll is a 29 year old bachelor gentleman with red hair and a nose that is unusual for his family, but comes from the Elphburg side (the royal house of Ruritania). This came from an 18th century scandal. Rudolf had been to a German university, and spoke French as well as his English. He decides to visit Ruritania for the Coronation. Rudolf stops at Zenda rather than the crowded capital of Strelsau, and stays at a small inn. There is a conflict between Prince Rudolf and his half-brother Duke Michael. When walking through the woods, Rassendyll meets Prince Rudolf. But a problem arises that will prevent Prince Rudolf from appearing at his Coronation that day. Colonel Sapt thinks of a solution: Rassendyll will double for the Prince at the Coronation! We learn that the poverty-stricken people of Old Town favor Duke Michael. The Coronation succeeds with no one suspecting a double. But when Rassendyll leaves to return to England a new problem arises. Rassendyll must continue to act as the King of Ruritania.

The story tell show Rassendyll, Sapt, and the others succeed in rescuing Prince Rudolf from captivity, and restore him to the throne and marriage with his cousin Princess Flavia (also of the Blood Royal). Duty triumphs over love, Flavia will stay and Rassendyll will go, never to return. It recalls pre-WW I Europe when no passports were needed to travel freely. This swashbuckling tale of adventure is well suited to a film where there is more action that talk. The limited number of characters would keep costs down.

The book "Royal Babylon" by Karl Shaw tells the uncensored history of European royalty, not the bowdlerized version in this novel. The earlier reference to a position in the Diplomatic Corps suggests Rassendyll may have joined the British Secret Service and been assigned to work on the Ruritanian succession. His job is to eliminate Michael from the throne (the masses liked him) and ensure Rudolf's succession (a weak man given to drink, and controllable by his British friends). There was no mention of Ruritania's importance as a military or commercial partner to Britain.

Sir Anthony Hope Hawkins was a successful London lawyer who wrote this 1894 novel about foreign intrigue with an Englishman in a fictional Balkan country. It inspired many such stories, and was filmed four times. This could be a fictionalized story based on the death of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria-Hungary at Mayerling in 1889. There is a book that claims Rudolph was murdered because he was friendlier to Britain and France than the German Empire. There may be more to this book than a simple adventure novel.

An adventure story, written in 1894, it deals with (fictional) European politics and the succession of Ruritania's King. (Zenda is the name of a castle, and has nothing to do with the video game Zork.) Still, this was great *older* fiction. I like it much more than Dickens, more than Melville, and more than Twain. The target audience appears to be young men or teenage boys, but I'm past that and more picky about what makes a novel. Reviews here convinced me to read, and please don't take this 'mere' three and a half stars (rounded down) to mean it isn't a good book. If I had a son, I'd recommend it to him!

Also note the sequel is Rupert of Hentzau written in 1898 by Anthony Hope, and if you are actually buying these in physical form and not downloading for free on the kindle, go with a combined edition of both books -- The Prisoner of Zenda and Rupert of Hentzau (Penguin Classics).

I was glad to see this come out on free Kindle. This is a great classic, here on Kindle in it's full form. It is an entertaining story. The writing style can be a little stilted at times.