6 h 8 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 6 h 8 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if you must wear a king’s crown while his enemies watch for one wrong move?
Rudolf Rassendyll has money, leisure and no useful work. Then a journey to Ruritania brings him face to face with a king who looks exactly like him. When drugged wine leaves the king unconscious before his coronation, Colonel Sapt asks Rudolf to take his place.
Inside the palace, Rudolf must recognise strangers, handle royal business and hide who he is. Black Michael, the king’s half-brother, wants the crown. Princess Flavia trusts the man she believes is her promised husband. As deception draws Rudolf closer to her, Anthony Hope’s adventure asks what he owes to love and what he owes to duty.
What you’ll discover
- A crown on loan Follow an idle gentleman into a royal role where every unfamiliar face presents a test.
- Loyalty under pressure Meet Sapt and Fritz von Tarlenheim, whose loyalty gives Rudolf allies in a dangerous court.
- Charm without honour Encounter Rupert of Hentzau, a fearless opponent whose wit makes his lack of honour more striking.
- Love behind a disguise Feel the strain as Flavia places her trust in a man living another person’s life.
- Beyond the palace walls Enter a world of forest lodges, swordplay and a guarded castle ringed by a moat.
Who will love it
For readers who love fast plots, duels, disguises and a romance with a price, and anyone drawn to tales of doubles, stolen thrones and royal intrigue.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- An idle Englishman with a royal nose
- Two men meet in a hunting lodge
- A king cannot be found on his coronation day
- Playing the king and meeting Flavia
- The castle of Zenda and the men around Michael
- What the story is about and how it is told
Who’s who
- Rudolf RassendyllAn idle English gentleman with red hair and a long nose, who finds purpose when he must take the place of a king.
- King Rudolf of RuritaniaThe newly chosen king, good-natured and fond of wine, who looks just like his English cousin and is threatened by his own half-brother.
- Colonel SaptA tough, shrewd old soldier loyal to the king, who thinks of the plan to use Rudolf as a double.
- Fritz von TarlenheimA young, loyal nobleman who serves the king and stands by Rudolf through every danger.
- Princess FlaviaThe king's cousin and promised bride, kind and serious, who trusts the man she believes is her betrothed.
- Black MichaelThe Duke of Strelsau and the king's half-brother, who wants the crown and has many followers.
- Rupert of HentzauA young, witty and fearless adventurer in Michael's service, who has charm and courage but no honour.
- Antoinette de MaubanA lady bound to Michael, whose loyalty to him is tested as events unfold.
Formats and delivery
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 6 h 8 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 8 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Der Gefangene von Zenda
by Anthony Hope · 1894
Rudolf Rassendyll takes a king's place before a coronation, caught between royal duty and love.
Easy read5–10 hours to read25 languages
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In short
The Prisoner of Zenda is an adventure novel by the English writer Anthony Hope, published in 1894. Hope was a young barrister when he wrote it, and it made his name almost at once.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
An idle Englishman with a royal nose
The book opens in England, in the home of Rudolf Rassendyll's brother. Rudolf is the younger son of a good family, and he has money enough to do nothing. His sister-in-law scolds him for it. She wonders aloud when he will ever do something useful with his life.
She also teases him about his looks. Now and then a Rassendyll is born with a long nose and a mass of red hair, and a few of them have shown it in odd places. Family talk has long held that a visiting prince of the royal house of Elphberg, the ruling family of Ruritania, had a romance with one of Rudolf's ancestors, a Rassendyll lady. Ever since, a Rassendyll now and then has been born with the Elphberg look. Rudolf is one of them, and he is proud of it in a lazy way.
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What is The Prisoner of Zenda about?
It tells of an English gentleman named Rudolf Rassendyll who looks just like the king of Ruritania. When the king is drugged and seized before his coronation, Rudolf takes his place to save the throne from a plotting rival.
Is The Prisoner of Zenda a true story?
No. Anthony Hope invented the kingdom of Ruritania and its people. The novel was published in 1894 and was written as an adventure romance, not as a history or a record of real events.
Who is Rupert of Hentzau?
Rupert of Hentzau is a young, witty and daring adventurer who serves Black Michael. He is the book's most memorable villain, charming and brave but without honour, and a dark mirror of the hero.
The author
Anthony Hope
1863–1933 · English novelist
Anthony Hope was the pen name of Anthony Hope Hawkins, an English novelist born in London in 1863. He worked as a lawyer before becoming a full-time writer. His novels include The Prisoner of Zenda (1894), Rupert of Hentzau (1898), and Tristram of Blent (1901). He died in Surrey in 1933.
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