Rupert of Hentzau (e-book) by Anthony Hope

I read this for free via Project Gutenberg. It's the sequel to The Prisoner of Zenda, which I read and reviewed a while back. I didn't really like that book, so I didn't hold high hopes for Rupert of Hentzau. To my surprise, I thought it was better than the first book.

There are some mild spoilers in this post.

Synopsis:

This book takes place 3 years after The Prisoner of Zenda and is told from the perspective of Fritz von Tarlenheim. Queen Flavia and Rudolf Rassendyll have not seen each other since the end of the events of the previous book, although, every year, Queen Flavia sends Rassendyll a letter.

This year, there is trouble. The letter is stolen by Rupert of Hentzau's people. If you read the previous book, you'll probably remember that Rupert managed to escape. He was exiled and has, ever since, tried to convince the King to let him come back.

The King hasn't fared too well in the past few years. His imprisonment still weighs on him, and the people closest to him, who should be his best support, see him and can only think "Rassendyll would have made a better king." The King has no idea that his wife is in love with Rassendyll, but he'll certainly know if Rupert can get the Queen's letter to him. That is something Fritz von Tarlenheim and Sapt want to stop at all costs. Rassendyll decides to come out of him self-imposed exile to join them.

The rest of the book is spent trying to get Queen Flavia's letter from Rupert, in order to save her reputation and keep the King from finding out about her secret love. Rassendyll once again impersonates the King. Although Queen Flavia's reputation is indeed saved, the book's ending is tragic.

Review:

One of the reasons why I didn't like The Prisoner of Zenda was because I didn't believe that Rassendyll had much reason to go to the lengths he did to save the King and Ruritania. In terms of motivation, I thought Rupert of Hentzau was a much better book. I could believe that Rassendyll would do all that he did to prevent Flavia's jealous husband from reading the love letter she wrote.

I don't know how this book was received at the time it was written. It wouldn't surprise me if it wasn't as popular as the first book, simply because it didn't start off with The Prisoner of Zenda's outrageous setup (an Englishman who looks just like the King of Ruritania is enlisted to pretend to be the King) and because of its tragic ending.

So very behind - plus, insects and PTSD

If I get a full review posted before the end of the day, I'll be really surprised. I just don't see it happening.

I've got a lot of things I could write about, but I read most of it long enough ago that I'd need a refresher before I'd feel comfortable posting anything. I still have to write something up about Maid Sama, Collection 2, but I'm trying to get a second viewing in first.

Here's what I'm reading/listening to right now:

• The Adventures of Maya the Bee (audio book) by Waldemar Bonsels - I'm pretty sure that my first exposure to this work was via a German-language TV show (Die Biene Maja, which, amusingly, is not actually German, but rather Japanese anime). I kind of doubt I ever read the book, because the decapitation scene took me by surprise. Then again, it's amazing what sorts of things managed not to make an impression on my child self.
• Rupert of Hentzau (e-book) by Anthony Hope - If you have PTSD or know and love someone who does, this may not be the best book for you - the king, who I believe is suffering from PTSD (although Hope of course doesn't put it that way) after the events of the previous book, is looked down upon by his own people for being less of a man and less of a king than Rudolph, his lookalike. Personally, I like this book better than the first one, because I can actually believe Rudolph's motives this time. I have a feeling, though, that I may end up less than pleased by the way the book ends.

The Prisoner of Zenda (e-book) by Anthony Hope

It's another Project Gutenberg book! You can download it here.

I decided to read this because I remembered a bit in Kaoru Mori's Emma where Vivi read it and got all excited about it.

Synopsis:

Rudolph knows he is distantly related to the King of Ruritania (there's a whole long story about it - I had trouble keeping everything straight), but it's still a shock when he encounters the King and discovers that they look almost like twins. This turns out to come in handy when the King is drugged right before his coronation. If the King doesn't make it to his coronation, Michael, his villainous half-brother, can claim the throne in his stead, so Rudolph is asked to temporarily impersonate the King.

Michael has the real King kidnapped and kept prisoner in a castle in the small town of Zenda. The few people who know what Michael has done can't call him out without revealing that the man who actually attended the coronation was an impostor. Michael can't say anything about the "King" being a fake, because then he'd have to admit to drugging and kidnapping the real King.

Rudolph is doing his best to try to help rescue the King, but, while pretending to be the King, he falls in love with Princess Flavia, the King's betrothed. Princess Flavia, who had previously not been much interested in the King, now begins to fall in love with him, not realizing that she is falling for his impostor. Michael is in love with Princess Flavia and is not pleased that she favors Rudolph more. And, as if this love polygon weren't complicated enough, Antoinette de Mauban, a woman Rudolph originally met while on the train to Ruritania, is Michael's mistress. She is not at all pleased that Michael loves Princess Flavia more than he does her.

This all comes to a dramatic conclusion in which Ruritania and its King are saved, Michael is defeated, his traitorous henchman Rupert of Hentzau escapes (and gets a sequel), and Princess Flavia and Rudolph must tragically separate for the good of Ruritania.

Review:

At first, I enjoyed this book. I could barely follow all the long paragraphs about the connection between Rudolph and the Ruritanian royal family, and Rudolph himself was a bit too driftless for my taste, but I got excited when more hints of the “impostor” storyline I knew was coming began to turn up. When Rudolph and the King finally met, I settled down for an adventure I was sure was going to be fun.

The problem was, it wasn't as fun as I expected. Rudolph seemed to love rushing into battles, the dashing hero doing his part to avenge fallen comrades and save Ruritania and the King from Black Michael. Unfortunately, all I could think was, “Why is he risking his life? And is the risk even worth it?”

Rudolph is not a Ruritanian. He had barely even met the King before he was suddenly enlisted to become the impostor King. I suppose I could see why he might have initially agreed. At first, all he was really agreeing to was being the King at the coronation – it was a short-term thing, and probably not too difficult. After the King was kidnapped, though, continuing to be the impostor King meant he was risking his life for a country that wasn't really his and for a man he hardly even knew. I'm guessing this was supposed to be admirable, dashing, and heroic. I just thought it was a bit stupid, in large part because I couldn't see why anyone, much less a near stranger, would want to risk their life for this particular king.