The Prisoner Of Zenda

By Anthony Hope

The Prisoner of Zenda, 1894, was a very popular Victorian romance and
a d v e n t u r e n o v e l i n i t s ti m e , b u t i s n o w severely overlooked. Numerous
w o r k s , b o t h fi c ti o n a n d n o n - fi c ti o n , a r e b a s e d o ff t h e b o o k a n d
numerous authors have acknowledged the impact the book had on
popular literature.

A c l a s s i c s t o r y , t a k i n g p l a c e i n t h e fi c ti o n a l G e r m a n s t a t e , ‘ R u r i t a n i a ’ — a
w o r d t h a t h a s c o m e t o b e a g e n e r i c t e r m f o r ‘ s m a l l fi c ti o n a l c o u n t r y i n
E u r o p e ’ — w a s w r i tt e n i n a p e r i o d b e f o r e t h e t w o w o r l d w a r s h a d a l t e r e d
the map of Europe. It immediately brings to mind Mark Twain’s ‘The
Prince and The Pauper seeing as the plot is quite similar i.e. a
d o p p e l g a n g e r t a k i n g t h e p l a c e o f r o y a l t y i n a p a r ti c u l a r c i r c u m s t a n c e .
T h e s t o r y i t s e l f , a b r i e f b u t i n t e r e s ti n g a d v e n t u r e i s f u n : a m o n a r c h y , a
f e u d , r i v a l r y , a c a p t u r e , a f a r c e a n d a fi g h t , a n d s o m e r o m a n c e .

The plot itself is one that has been done over and over again, but that’s
because it has been proven popular. The idea that you have two people
so incredibly alike that they can switch places and none will be the
wiser is one that has been quite overused in the past centuries. In this
case, the reason is a common ancestor and obviously very dominant
genes, and the result is that Rudolf Rassendyll and King Rudolf of
Ruritania look exactly the same.

R a s s e n d y l l i s n ’ t a b a d s o r t o f c h a r a c t e r ; h e ’ s p r e tt y l i k e a b l e a n d n o t
i n s u ff e r a b l y g o o d . H e ’ s n o t e x t r e m e l y c h a r i s m a ti c e i t h e r . T h e m a j o r s t a r
o f t h e b o o k , i s t h e u tt e r l y d e s p i c a b l e v i l l a i n , R u p e r t o f H e n z a u w h o k i l l s
w i t h fl a i r a n d s p l e n d i d l a c k o f r e m o r s e . F l a v i a i s n i c e a n d n o t s u c h a
vain character as one would expect of the king’s betrothed. She doesn’t
require any saving and doesn’t play the damsel in distress because she
doesn’t get into any problems and behaves perfectly reasonably.

T h e r e a r e s w o r d fi g h t s a n d m o a t s w i m m i n g a n d t h e o c c a s i o n a l w i tt y
v e r b a l e x c h a n g e s o I c a n ’ t c o m p l a i n . I a l s o fi n d t h e w a y R u d o l f ’ s l i f e i s
p r e s e n t e d a s a m o n a r c h f a i r l y r e a l i s ti c i n a p e c u l i a r m i x o f p o w e r a n d
c o n s c r i p ti o n .
One thing that was quite bothersome, however, was the lack of severe
c h a r a c t e r d e v e l o p m e n t . T h e b o o k o ff e r e d n o r e s p i t e f o r t h a t e i t h e r . T h e
characters themselves were quite shallow and uninspiring.

But, despite its severe brevity and occasional plot weaknesses, The
Prisoner of Zenda is among the most enduring of adventures, In part,
the reasons for this are predictable. Mystery, intrigue, suspense, and
love are integrated neatly in the tale. There is plenty of adventure,
m u c h o f i t f r a m e d a s a c o n fl i c t b e t w e e n e v i l a n d g o o d , a n d t h e r e i s
strong central character, Rudolf Rassendyll to hold the book together.