6 h 59 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 6 h 59 minPaperback · 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.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy witty romances set in imaginary kingdoms, stories of marriage and second chances, and heroes who talk their way into trouble will find a warm companion here. Fans of Stevenson's adventures will meet his gentler, funnier side.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Otto rides away from his duties
- A stranger hears his own reputation
- Kindness carries a trace of vanity
- An insult reveals Otto’s tenderness
- Taking charge does not heal pride
- A generous promise raises uncomfortable questions
- Doing nothing is not neutral
- The jokes also leave wounds
- Weakness does not erase genuine tenderness
Who’s who
- Prince OttoThe charming, idle ruler of Grünewald, who loves hunting and theatricals, doubts his own worth, and wants to be useful at last.
- Princess SeraphinaOtto's proud young wife, who longs for power and the respect of men and follows her minister's lead.
- Baron GondremarkThe forceful foreign minister who runs Grünewald in the prince's name and plans a war for his own advancement.
- Doctor GottholdOtto's cousin and librarian, a scholar of wit and Rhine wine, who tells him hard truths and cares for him.
- Countess von RosenA tall, witty, changeable lady of the court who plays at wickedness, loves a game, and takes sides on a whim.
- Killian GottesheimThe old, pious farmer of River Farm, who speaks his mind about the prince and wants to keep his land.
- Sir John CrabtreeA cynical English baronet writing a travel book on European courts, who judges everyone sourly and then surprises himself.
- GreisengesangThe old Chancellor, a stiff and fearful courtier who survives by serving whoever holds power.
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Prince Otto, a Romance
by Robert Louis Stevenson · 1885
An idle prince rides off in disguise, buys a farm for a stranger, and walks into a plot against his throne.
Medium level2–5 hours to read16 languages
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In short
What does a prince do when his whole country has made him a joke? In Prince Otto, he saddles a gray mare, rides over the border in disguise, and eats supper with a farmer who explains why the prince is despised.
Prince Otto, a Romance at a glance
- Reading time
- About 4 h 5 min3 h 15 min fast, 4 h 55 min slow
- Length
- 58,800 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1885by Robert Louis Stevenson
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A small prince slips away from his hunt
Grünewald is a country that no longer exists. It is a hilly principality of pine forest, with one town, Mittwalden, and many brown wooden villages joined by covered bridges.
On a spring day, the horns of Prince Otto's hunt sound all afternoon. At sunset two huntsmen stand on a knoll and cannot find him anywhere. One sneers that it is starting again, just as it did before the wedding. Kuno says he would put his hand in the fire for Otto.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1885
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 4 h 30 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Stevenson, Robert Louis. Prince Otto, a Romance. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/prince-otto-a-romance.
Stevenson, R. L. (2026). Prince Otto, a romance. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/prince-otto-a-romance (Original work published 1885)
Stevenson, Robert Louis. Prince Otto, a Romance. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/prince-otto-a-romance.
@book{stevenson2026prince,
author = {Stevenson, Robert Louis},
title = {Prince Otto, a Romance},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/prince-otto-a-romance},
note = {First published 1885}
}
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What is Prince Otto about?
It follows Otto, the idle ruler of the small German state of Grünewald, who rides off in disguise, hears what his people think of him, and returns to a court where his wife and minister are planning a war.
Where is Grünewald and is it a real place?
Grünewald is an invented principality in the German lands, full of pine forests, mills and mountain streams. Stevenson opens by saying it has vanished from the map, which signals that the book is a romance.
Who are Gondremark and Seraphina?
Gondremark is the foreign-born prime minister who rules in the prince's name. Seraphina is Otto's young wife, who shares power with him and is drawn into his plans for war.
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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