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The Prisoner of Zenda is the story of an Englishman who travels to the small European state of Ruritania where he impersonates the ruler and falls in love with Princess Flavia.

The hugely successful romantic adventure story which continues to thrill a century after it was written. It has all the classic ingredients - a twisting plot of betrayal and deception, love interest, great swashbuckling action and a most beguiling villain in Rupert of Hentzau, who captured the public’s imagination and had them begging the author for a sequel. Rudolph Rassendyll visits Ruritania, with whose Royal Family he has a connection because of a scandalous sexual indiscretion in the past.

An incriminating love-letter from the Queen of Ruritania to Rudolph Rassendyll, the hero of The Prisoner of Zenda, is intercepted by the dastardly villain Rupert of Hentzau, who is intent on causing trouble for the Royal Family. Rassendyll is forced to return to save the day and again assume his impersonation of King Rudolph. Once more he is embroiled in a world of deception, intrigue, deadly swordfights and strained loyalties, but will he be able to restore peace to Ruritania a second time?

Anthony Hope's swashbuckling historical novel The Prisoner of Zenda was first published in 1894 and was an instant hit, spawning an 1898 sequel, Rupert of Hentzau, and launching the Ruritanian romance genre. Included here are the radio dramatisations of both thrilling novels, starring Julian Glover as Rudolf Rassendyll and King Rudolf, Martin Jarvis as Rupert of Hentzau and Hannah Gordon as Flavia.

Rupert of Hentzau is a sequel by Anthony Hope to "The Prisoner of Zenda", written in 1895, but not published until 1898. This story commences three years after the conclusion of Zenda, and deals with the same fictional country somewhere in Germanic Middle Europe, the kingdom of Ruritania.

Anthony Hope was constrained to return to the fictional land of Ruritania by an appreciative public who wanted more swashbuckling and derring-do from the hero Rudolph and more Machiavellian moustache twirling from the suave villain Rupert. The author came up with a literary construction which ensured he would never again have to visit fictional Ruritania - but nothing he subsequently wrote appealed as much as the two Zenda stories.

The ultimate escapist adventure story, The Prisoner of Zenda transports the listener into a bygone era, awash with swashbuckling heroism, cunning plots and courtly love. The popularity of Hope’s tale of intrigue was such that it spawned an entirely new genre known as the ‘Ruritanian romance’. When the King of Ruritania is kidnapped, the onus falls on a British tourist, who bears an uncanny resemblance to the King, to stand in for him and to avert disaster by coming to his rescue.

In this series we explore the many facets of love through literary talents that span both time and country. When two people meet, when eyes glance and lock. And we often say something ‘clicks’; ‘it feels like I’ve known you forever’. Romance begins to brew and to blossom. In this volume our masterful writers take on the task of describing and revealing the beginnings of a romance, and some may even lead to love.

Sir Anthony Hope Hawkins was born on 9th February 1863 in Clapton, London. He was educated at St John's School, Leatherhead, Marlborough College and Balliol College, Oxford. Hope trained as a lawyer and barrister and was called to the Bar by the Middle Temple in 1887. Despite what was thought to be a promising legal career, he had literary ambitions and wrote in his spare time. His early works appeared in various periodicals of the day but for his first book, ‘A Man of Mark’ (1890), with no publisher interested, he published with his own resources.

"The Prisoner of Zenda" is an adventure novel by Anthony Hope, published in 1894. The king of the fictional country of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces are such that in order for the king to retain his crown his coronation must go forward. An English gentleman on holiday who fortuitously resembles the monarch, is persuaded to act as his political decoy in an attempt to save the situation.

"We must leave for Zenda at once, to find the King!" cried Sapt. "If we’re caught, we’ll all be killed!" So Rudolf Rassendyll and Sapt gallop through the night to find the King of Ruritania. But the King is now a prisoner in the Castle of Zenda. Who will rescue him from his enemies, the dangerous Duke Michael and Rupert of Hentzau? And who will win the heart of the beautiful Princess Flavia? An Oxford Bookworms Library reader for learners of English, adapted from the Anthony Hope original by Diane Mowat.

Anthony Hope's swashbuckling classic tale of adventure and romance: Ruritania, a beautiful kingdom in the mountains between Germany and Austria, is in the midst of a power struggle. On one side is the alcoholic lay-about crown prince, Rudolf - popular with the upper class and army - and on the other is his half-brother, Michael, who has the love of the common people. The struggle reaches a new fervor at Rudolf's coronation, when Michael kidnaps his brother and takes him to the Castle of Zenda. Now the only thing in the way of Black Michael's plan is a confused distant cousin in England.  

This swashbuckling romance transports a droll young English gentleman from his comfortable life in London to a fast-moving adventure in a mythical country steeped in political intrigue. Rudolf Rassendyll, pondering his life’s purpose, sets out on a journey to the tiny European kingdom of Ruritania, where he discovers that he bears a marked physical resemblance to the king.

Rudolf Rassendyll travels to the small kingdom of Ruritania for what should be a quiet holiday. But when the newly crowned king is drugged and kidnapped, Rudolf's uncanny resemblance to him pulls him into a dangerous plan. To prevent a national crisis, he agrees to impersonate the king. As he steps into royal life, Rudolf must navigate court politics, betrayal, and a plot to seize the throne.

Rupert of Hentzau is the thrilling sequel to The Prisoner of Zenda, continuing the tale of political intrigue, romance, and adventure in the kingdom of Ruritania. When a treacherous nobleman obtains a secret letter that could destroy the monarchy, Rudolf Rassendyll must once again step into danger to prevent a crisis. A gripping novel filled with duels, deception, and high-stakes drama.

The Prisoner of Zenda is a thrilling tale of political intrigue, romance, and adventure. When Englishman Rudolf Rassendyll discovers he is a perfect double for the King of Ruritania, he is drawn into a dangerous plot to save the throne from treacherous enemies. With sword fights, secret dungeons, and a forbidden love story, this novel is a swashbuckling masterpiece.

This rip-roaring 19th-century adventure yarn by Anthony Hope tells us the adventure of Rudolph Rassendyll, who, thanks to his bearing an uncanny likeness to his distant relative Crown Prince Rudolph of the fictional land of Ruritania, is forced to swap places with him in order to secure the throne from Black Michael the usurper. What follows is a fast-paced adventure replete with derring-do, romance, and heroism.

The king of the fictional country of Ruritania is abducted on the eve of his coronation, and the protagonist, an English gentleman on holiday who fortuitously resembles the monarch, is persuaded to act as his political decoy in an attempt to save the situation.

Esta historia, trata de las aventuras de Rodolfo, que por su extraordinario parecido con el rey de Ruritania, es reclutado para remplazarlo cuando el verdadero rey cae prisionero de unos villanos, mientras este es rescatado.

Dive into a delightful collection of short stories that explore the whimsical journey of love and courtship. Each tale, narrated by Michele Eaton, brings to life the charm and challenges of finding romance in unexpected ways.