Review: The Heart of Princess Osra (novel)

Some prequels are very good. And then there's this sort of prequel. The one that leaves you wondering "why was this even written?"

The Heart of Princess Osra by Anthony Hope was published in 1896. It's a prequel to The Prisoner of Zenda, and is about a great-aunt (several times removed) of both Rudolfs.

Instead of having a central plot like the other books in the series, this is essentially a short story collection. All the stories revolve around the incredibly boring romantic entanglements of the eponymous princess. Every story (except one) involves yet another man falling in love with her and bringing ruin on himself or someone else. Seriously, you'd think Osra was Lúthien or Arwen, from the way all these men go crazy for her!

There are exactly two likeable characters in the whole novel: Osra's brother Prince Henry, and the Bishop of Modenstein, AKA Frederick of Hentzau -- presumably a great-uncle or some other relative of the more (in)famous Rupert of Hentzau. Everyone else is either dull as dishwater or utterly infuriating. Rudolf III (the ancestor of the two Rudolfs in The Prisoner of Zenda) is exactly the sort of scumbag I expected him to be. Princess Osra herself has all the personality of a doll. Her steady stream of suitors are either despicable or incredibly stupid.

The one high point of the book is that it gives the reader a glimpse into the history of Ruritania. Unfortunately, to get to the historical references one has to wade through the sleep-inducing saga of the latest man to fall in love with Osra. Yawn.

If the book had less romance and more of a plot, it might have been a decent addition to the Ruritanian trilogy. Instead, it's very much the weakest of the three books.

Is it available online?: Yes, on Gutenberg, if for some reason you want to read it.

Rating: 1/10.

Review: Rupert of Hentzau (novel)

Remember I mentioned The Prisoner of Zenda had a sequel? I've just finished reading the sequel, so here's a review of it.

Rupert of Hentzau was published in 1898, and takes place three years after the events of the first book. It's been adapted into several films, but has never been as popular as The Prisoner of Zenda.

The narrator is no longer Rudolf, for reasons that will become clear when you finish the book, but instead his friend Fritz. Unfortunately, Fritz isn't as good a narrator as Rudolf. This book doesn't bring the reader to the edge of their seat the way Zenda does.

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!

Flavia is now Queen of Ruritania and married to King Rudolf. She and her husband have never loved each other, however, and she's still in love with not-king!Rudolf, who she hasn't seen for three years. She writes him a letter to give him a permanent farewell, and gives it to Fritz to deliver to Rudolf. Fritz is ambushed along the way by Rupert of Hentzau, who's still up to his old tricks. Rupert reads the letter and immediately sees a way to ruin Flavia and both Rudolfs. A race against time starts to retrieve the letter and foil Rupert's plots.

From the beginning, I knew this story wouldn't be as good as the original. But I was determined to give it a try, and I ended up enjoying it a lot. I admit spent most of the time impatiently waiting for Rupert's next appearance, though 😊 That's one problem with this book. Even though he's the title character and main villain, Rupert of Hentzau has far too few appearances for my liking.

In fact, Rupert is the most likeable character in this novel. He makes no pretensions to being anything other than a villain. The supposed heroes, meanwhile, have become a collection of jerks since the end of the first novel. I used to like Flavia, but the whole plot starts because she writes a love letter to a man who isn't her husband, and so I was very disappointed in what this novel did with her character. Not-king!Rudolf is no longer the awesome if out-of-his-depth hero of the first book, and Fritz and Sapt are just... dull.

The book still has some moments of drama. The death of King Rudolf took me completely by surprise. And it has its comical moments, like the embarrassing moment when not-king!Rudolf is seen climbing through a window by a whole crowd of aristocrats who think he's the king.

I have mixed feelings about Rupert's death. On the one hand, he was already defeated when Rudolf shot him. On the other, he had just tried to kill Rudolf, and would have tried again if he lived. On the other hand (I know, that makes no sense), I'm disappointed Rupert died at all. Yes, he richly deserved it, but he was such an awesome villain!

The last few chapters were the most dramatic and enjoyable. The weakest moment is when the author kills Rudolf off without revealing what his choice was. I understand why he did it, but it's still an anti-climax.

Yet I still cried all the way through the final chapter. I couldn't help it. I wasn't even sure what I was crying at -- Rupert's death, Rudolf's death, or the aftermath of Rudolf's death. But the funeral was so poignant and tragic that I burst into tears and kept crying even after the last sentence 😭

Is it available online?: Yes, on Gutenberg.

Rating: 6/10.

Review: The Prisoner of Zenda (novel)

Some novels grab hold of you from the first sentence and refuse to let go until the end. This is one of them.

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.