The hugely successful romantic adventure story which continues to thrill a century after it was written. It has all the classic ingredients - a twisting plot of betrayal and deception, love interest, great swashbuckling action and a most beguiling villain in Rupert of Hentzau, who captured the publics imagination and had them begging the author for a sequel - and he obliged.

Rudolph Rassendyll visits Ruritania, with whose Royal Family he has a connection because of a scandalous sexual indiscretion in the past. When the heir apparent is kidnapped, Rudolph by virtue of his physical similarity to the new ruler, is plunged into a sequence of events in which he is crowned then must rescue ‘The Prisoner of Zenda’ in order to continue the royal line and pay court to the Princess Flavia - the latter task coming very easy to him as he falls deeply in love.

The idea of the double who saves the king and his country while keeping the flame of passion alive in the princess keeps the listener glued to the story from beginning to end. The action sequences are well told - the author does not gloss over the gore, and the sentiment between the two lovers is well observed. A terrific, original tale much imitated by succeeding authors - but never bettered. Great entertainment and part of literary history!

Collection	Narrator	Length
Victorian	Peter Joyce	6 hrs 36 mins

Media	Compact Disc
Media Qty	6
Audio Format	CD-DA
Book Code	VI-130CD
ISBN	978 1 86015 068 5
Price	£18.49

Sir Anthony Hope Hawkins (1863 -1933), better known as Anthony Hope was an English author now best remembered for his "Ruritanian" novels The Prisoner of Zenda, The Heart of Princess Osra (prequel), and Rupert of Hentzau (sequel). Born in Fleet Street, London his education was at the famous Marlborough private school and subsequently at Balliol College, Oxford University. He trained to be a barrister and was called to the Bar where he practised until 1894. During this time he wrote in his spare time, producing quite a number of short stories. Success came with The Dolly Dialogues, published in the "Westminster Gazette" in 1894. These witty sketches inspired Hope to leave the legal profession and take up writing full-time.

Hope gained praise from prestigious quarters. Robert Louis Stevenson himself, who had opened the reading public in England up to Hope's form of adventure romance, showered Hope with praise. Perhaps predictably, so did the influential poet and critic Andrew Lang (1844-1912) who favoured historical adventures of Doyle, Haggard and Hope over Hardy or Henry James. After his marriage to Elizabeth Sommerville Sheldon of New York City in 1903 he wrote various novels such as Sophy of Kravonia (1906) and Lucinda (1920). As a result of his services at the Ministry of Information during World War I, Hope was knighted and subsequently published his Memories and Notes (1927).

Click here to find out more about Anthony Hope.

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