If historically tinged action-adventure is your genre of choice, hang on to your hat—you're in for a wild ride. In The Prisoner of Zenda, Anthony Hope relates the misadventures that befall the soon-to-be-crowned king of the fictional country of Ruritania in the days leading up to his coronation. An English tourist who just happens to be a dead ringer for the king is called into service as a decoy, and a string of increasingly perilous scrapes follow.
Sir Anthony Hope Hawkins, better known as Anthony Hope, (1863-1933) was a British novelist and playwright best remembered today for his short novel The Prisoner of Zenda (1894), a prequel The Heart of Princess Osra (a collection of short stories) (1896), and a sequel Rupert of Hentzau (1898). These works were all set in the contemporaneous fictional kingdom of Ruritania. His first novel was A Man of Mark (1890), and one of his most well-known works during his lifetime was The Dolly Dialogues (1894), published in the Westminster Gazette. He started writing full time after Zenda's success, completing many other novels and plays, including English Nell (based on the life of actress Nell Gwyn), and Sophy of Kravonia (1906), in a similar vein as the Zenda story. He was knighted in recognition of his contribution to British propaganda efforts during World War I. He also published an autobiographical book, Memories and Notes, in 1927. His other works include: Father Stafford (1891), Half a Hero (1893), The Indiscretion of the Duchess (1894), Frivolous Cupid (1895), The King's Mirror (1899), and Quisant (1900).
Description:
If historically tinged action-adventure is your genre of choice, hang on to your hat—you're in for a wild ride. In The Prisoner of Zenda, Anthony Hope relates the misadventures that befall the soon-to-be-crowned king of the fictional country of Ruritania in the days leading up to his coronation. An English tourist who just happens to be a dead ringer for the king is called into service as a decoy, and a string of increasingly perilous scrapes follow.
Sir Anthony Hope Hawkins, better known as Anthony Hope, (1863-1933) was a British novelist and playwright best remembered today for his short novel The Prisoner of Zenda (1894), a prequel The Heart of Princess Osra (a collection of short stories) (1896), and a sequel Rupert of Hentzau (1898). These works were all set in the contemporaneous fictional kingdom of Ruritania. His first novel was A Man of Mark (1890), and one of his most well-known works during his lifetime was The Dolly Dialogues (1894), published in the Westminster Gazette. He started writing full time after Zenda's success, completing many other novels and plays, including English Nell (based on the life of actress Nell Gwyn), and Sophy of Kravonia (1906), in a similar vein as the Zenda story. He was knighted in recognition of his contribution to British propaganda efforts during World War I. He also published an autobiographical book, Memories and Notes, in 1927. His other works include: Father Stafford (1891), Half a Hero (1893), The Indiscretion of the Duchess (1894), Frivolous Cupid (1895), The King's Mirror (1899), and Quisant (1900).