He used a vanity press to get his first book published and kept on trying until he eventually scored a hit with The Prisoner of Zenda. To the adult reader it may seem preposterous, but the device works well for the less dissecting mind of a child. The mistaken identity plot – much like those tales where the beautiful female love interest dresses like a boy and is readily accepted as such – stretches credulity to breaking point, demanding that we suspend our disbelief. The Prisoner of Zenda is perhaps best seen as children’s fiction rather than adult. It has been frequently referenced and adapted for both the stage and screen a number of times, too. The Prisoner of Zenda has fared slightly better than the other two books, simply because it is a better yarn and has one of those titles that people remember, regardless of whether they have read the book. He lacked the kind of intellect required to layer his prose with meaning. Hope was more of a storyteller than a novelist. All three novels were very popular at the time of their publication, although their appeal has waned over the passing century, largely due to their want of depth. The Prisoner of Zenda is one of a trilogy of works penned by Hope, also comprising The Heart of Princess Osra (1896) and Rupert of Hentzau (1898). It has also been used in a mocking sense to describe the quaint and simplistic Britain that exists only in the imagination of those deluded by deference. The name Ruritania is sometimes used to refer to a generic example country when academics are discussing economic and political models. Flavia and the stand-in are torn apart but realize that duty must come before their affection for one another.Īlthough Ruritania is the invention of the author, Anthony Hope, it is geographically situated on the Balkan Peninsula, in southeastern Europe. Eventually though, Prince Rudolph is liberated and the truth comes out. As unlikely as it may seem, Flavia suspects nothing, such is the physical similarity between the two Rudolphs.
He finds himself in love with Princess Flavia, and she him, though he is unable to reveal his true identity. While attempts are made to rescue Prince Rudolph, his double assumes the role of king in every sense, including in matters of love. Meanwhile, Prince Rudolph is abducted and held captive in a town named Zenda. Two of Rudolph’s attendants persuade his visiting cousin, also named Rudolph and strikingly similar in appearance, to stand in for Prince Rudolph, thereby preventing Michael from claiming the throne. In a fictitious land named Ruritania, the heir apparent, Prince Rudolph, is about to become king, but he is drugged by his brother Michael on the eve of his coronation. In The Prisoner of Zenda (1894) it is definitely the former, as it forms part of a counter-plot to prevent a king from being overthrown by his own brother. Sometimes it is used to heighten the sense of drama, at other times to inject an element of comedy. Each of these examples uses the device in a different way, but it can almost be regarded as a genre. 1601) by William Shakespeare, A Tale of Two Cities (1859) by Charles Dickens, The Prince and the Pauper (1881) by Mark Twain. Throughout literary history there have been many stories involving mistaken identity: Twelfth Night (c.
0 kommentar(er)
