The Prisoner of Zenda is a novel by Anthony Hope, an author I'd never heard of until I picked up this book. It was published in 1894, and followed later by a sequel, Rupert of Hentzau. I haven't read the sequel yet, but I hope to get around to it soon. Both books have been adapted into several films.
There are some books that invented or popularised whole genres. Frankenstein did it for science fiction, Dracula for vampire novels, The Lord of the Rings for fantasy. The Prisoner of Zenda is one of those novels. It paved the way for a whole flood of novels set in small fictional countries. Ironically, very few of the settings in those novels bear much resemblance to the original Ruritania.
Our story begins with Rudolf Rassendyll, an English nobleman, going on a trip to the fictional country of Ruritania. Thanks to a scandal involving an ancestor, Rudolf is a distant cousin of the Ruritanian king, also called Rudolf, and the two men look very alike.
You can already see where this is going, can't you?
King Rudolf's half-brother Michael wants the throne, so he drugs the king before the coronation. The other Rudolf finds himself with no option but to pretend to be the king. He thinks it'll be just for a day. But Michael kidnaps the real king and locks him up in the castle of Zenda. So not-king!Rudolf has to find a plan to rescue King Rudolf without revealing the truth to the people... and before Michael kills the king.
Reading this book is like watching a film. It's more fast-paced and exciting than many action sequences on the screen. It has some hilarious moments, and some moments when my heart leapt into my throat and I was sure the truth would be revealed with disastrous consequences.
It also has some truly great characters.
At first I pitied Michael, who was barred from the line of succession because his parents had a morganatic marriage. But a few chapters in, I quickly began to despise him. King Rudolf isn't much better. Yes, his brother drugged and kidnapped him... but his brother would never have had a chance to do either if he hadn't spent the night before his coronation getting drunk.
Not-king!Rudolf (this is the easiest way I can find to distinguish between the two Rudolfs) is trying so hard to keep up this charade and rescue the king at the same time. And while doing that he manages to narrate one heck of a story, full of moments that are dramatic, comical, and both at once. I laughed so hard at his tea-table attack 😃
But my favourite character, without a doubt, is... the most villainous character. And who could blame me, I'd like to know, when the villain is as awesome as Rupert?
Common sense and morality both say that Rupert of Hentzau is despicable, irredeemable, and has committed the most horrible crimes. Yes, that's true. But he's also so brazen and daring, even while committing his crimes, that it's impossible not to be reluctantly impressed.
And then there's poor Princess Flavia. Out of all the characters in the novel, I felt the most sorry for her. She falls in love with the man she thinks is the king, and not-king!Rudolf can't explain the truth to her. Then she finally discovers who he really is... just before they have to part forever. Poor girl 😢
The Prisoner of Zenda is fairly short by Victorian standards -- twenty-two chapters. If you don't think that's short, please remember that Little Dorrit has seventy chapters, Vanity Fair has sixty-seven, and The Way We Live Now has a hundred. And let's not forget Les Misérables, which has five volumes and more than three hundred chapters.
So yes, Zenda is extremely short. It also moves at a much faster pace than any of the other novels mentioned.
I'm disappointed that it hasn't had a recent adaptation. There are no end of adaptations of Pride and Prejudice, and apparently there's a series of new Charles Dickens adaptations in the works, but The Prisoner of Zenda is being overlooked. Which is a shame, because if adapted well it would make a thrilling miniseries -- or even a full-length film.
If you want to read an exciting novel that you'll finish fairly quickly, I'd definitely recommend this book to you!
Is it available online?: Yes, on Gutenberg.
Rating: 8/10.
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