Product Description

Rudolph Rassendyll's life is interrupted by his unexpected and personal involvement in the affairs of Ruritania whilst travelling through the town of Zenda. He is shortly on the way to Streslau, the capital, where he finds himself engaged in plans to rescue the imprisoned king.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24207 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-27
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

Customer Reviews

Thilling and epic tale
On holiday from University and with time to spare, i decided to go out and buy some of the cheap Penguin classics and get some reading done. This was definitely the pick of the books i bought.

I've seen this book criticised time and time again for being cliched and unrealistic. It may well be both of those things but who wants fiction to be realistic (we could all name hundreds of books that have an 'unrealistic' plot)? And does it matter that it's cliched if it's an enjoyable read?

This book has a lot of things going for it - Hope's style is very easy to read, it's a very exciting tale and has lots of fascinating, over the top characters (the pick being the evil 'Black Michael'). It also seems at times that you're reading a movie script - the book is full of big, rousing lines that sound just like they've come out of the movies, designed either to excite or tug at the heart strings.

The back cover describes it as a 'swashbuckling adventure and a tender love story', it is indeed and so much more. In short, this book has a bit of everything and there is no more enjoyable read. At least i've not found one yet.

Well Worth A Look
People have criticised this book for being far-fetched, well, I suppose it is a little, but then so is Tolkien. If you can suspend belief for him, then why not Mr Hope?
It tells the tale of Rupert Rassendyll, who visits the fictional country of Ruritania. There is something of a power struggle going on, with the Black Duke planning a Coup on the throne. As his plot comes to fruition, we discover a remarkable resemblance between our hero, and the soon to be crowned prince. He must carry on an intrigue with the princess/cousin (very dubious), act as the King, while simultaenously try to free the King who is being held at Zenda. And he must contend with 'the six' who serve the Duke.
The book is short and concise, and 'feels' longer than it is. Considering it is only 140 pages, I was surprised that it had equivalent content of a book of over 300 pages. That may seem like a bizarre claim, but Hope squeezes a lot of content. It is also eminently readable for this Victorian style, and the characters surprisingly strong.
All in all, a nice little book that should appeal to a wide audience. Hope is not so widely recognised as other classic authors, but deserves to be read, and, if your reading this, you could do far worse with two quid.

Old style adventure that still has appeal
Written when plot twists in thrillers weren't ten-a-penny, this thoroughly enjoyable mistaken-identity yarn doesn't attempt anything more than entertaining the reader. It succeeds.