6 h 59 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What good is a kind prince when someone else rules his country and his wife no longer respects him?
In Grunewald, a tiny invented German state, Prince Otto prefers books and company to the work of government. His ambitious minister, Baron von Gondremark, holds the real power. As the minister’s policies stir discontent, Otto faces a question his easygoing nature cannot keep at bay: what does he owe the people he rules?
Princess Seraphina wants a well-run country and a husband she can respect. Their cold marriage lies at the heart of Robert Louis Stevenson’s romance, where court comedy meets serious questions about love and duty. Beyond the palace, Otto encounters ordinary people whose lives reveal what his neglect means. A playful narrator keeps the story light without softening its stakes.
What you’ll discover
- Kindness under pressure Meet a prince whose good nature offers no easy answer to the demands of power.
- A marriage at stake Follow Otto and Seraphina as wounded respect puts distance between husband and wife.
- Ambition behind the throne Watch Gondremark turn ability and energy into power while discontent grows around him.
- Life beyond the palace Join Otto in the countryside, where ordinary voices challenge the comfort of court life.
- Comedy with serious questions Enjoy Stevenson’s playful narrator while weighing what makes a ruler worthy of the role.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who enjoy Stevenson's voice, small-court comedy, and stories where character matters more than action. If you want fast adventure like Treasure Island, you may find its talk and its ornate style slower than you hoped.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A small state with an idle prince
- A marriage that has gone cold
- A minister who really rules
- Plots and unrest gather around the throne
- Leaving the palace shows Otto the world
- A light touch carrying serious questions
Who’s who
- Prince OttoThe kind, easygoing ruler of Grunewald, who loves books and company and avoids the work of government.
- Princess SeraphinaOtto's proud, serious wife, who wants a well-run state and a husband she can respect.
- Baron von GondremarkThe able and ambitious prime minister, who holds the real power in the principality.
- Madame von RosenA worldly countess of the court who knows Otto well and watches events with clear eyes.
- Dr. GottholdA learned, plain-spoken man in the prince's circle, whose honesty stands against the scheming of the court.
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- Audiobook
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- 15-minute summary
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- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
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- 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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El príncipe Otto
by Robert Louis Stevenson· 1885
A prince faces political trouble and a failing marriage.
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Language: Español
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
A small state with an idle prince
The story opens in Grunewald, one of the many small German principalities of the age. It has a palace, a court, a little army and a prince, but not much else that would make a great power. Everything about it is on a miniature scale. Stevenson uses this size to gain a gentle comedy, since the grand rituals of kingship are performed by people who can hardly believe in them.
Prince Otto is the center of that world. He is friendly, easygoing and fond of ease. He likes books, walking and company, and he dislikes the tedious work of government. Nobody could call him cruel. His people mostly like him, and that is part of the trouble, because being liked has become a replacement for being useful.
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The author
Robert Louis Stevenson
1850–1894 · Scottish novelist and poet
Robert Louis Stevenson was a Scottish novelist and poet, born in Edinburgh in 1850. He wrote Treasure Island (1883), A Child’s Garden of Verses (1885), and Kidnapped and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886). He settled in Samoa in 1890 and died there in 1894.
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What is Prince Otto about?
It is a romance set in the small invented German state of Grunewald. It follows an amiable but idle prince, his strong-willed wife and a powerful minister, as political trouble and a failing marriage press on the throne.
Is Prince Otto a true story?
No. Grunewald and its court are invented. Stevenson modeled the setting on the many small German states of his day, and published the novel in 1885, after Treasure Island.
Is Prince Otto like Treasure Island?
Not much. It has no pirates or sea adventure. It is a witty, ornate court romance with a talkative narrator, and it cares more about character, marriage and rule than about action.
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