It's interesting to compare with Thomas Hardy. None of this really matters beyond chapter one of either book, though. There are differences, though: Hannay is bored of being idle whereas Rudolf would happily be idle for the rest of his life. Rudolf, however, makes one fairly mild sexist remark.
Buchan's Hannay is much worse in this regard than Hope's Rudolf: Hannay is racist, sexist, Imperialist, arrogant and frankly unlikeable. Both open with a 1st Person account of the protagonist lacking occupation and being idle just before the action begins and both betray unpleasant attitudes, too. I was almost immediately reminded of when I started this book.
#Literature the prisoner of zenda full#
I recommend it to anyone who loves pining, tragic romance between star-crossed lovers, and adventure stories full of humor and heart. A lot of the scenes have great situational irony too, like how Black Michael and his henchmen know Rudolf is an imposter, but none of them can say anything without revealing to everyone they have the actual king held hostage. There's a real slapstick comedic edge to the dialog and all the fight scenes. All of the action scenes are both thrilling and hilarious. Not since Wuthering Heights have I read such a beautiful tragic romance.īut it's not just a romance, it's a great swashbuckling adventure story. I have not read such an incredible romance in ages. The catharsis! The two lovers never see each other again, and Rudolf sends her a rose every year, wrapped with a note that says, "Rudolf-Flavia-for ever." This was such an emotionally satisfying ending. "Is love all there is? Perhaps, for some, Fate lets it be."Īh! Rudolf and Princess Flavia must part ways, because "Honour binds a woman too." Flavia goes on to marry the king, a man she doesn't love, and Rudolf must go back to England. Spoilers ahead! Oh my goodness.that ending! That beautiful, tragic ending.
If anything, I would like to know his motives behind joining Black Michael and playing the role in true King's liberation. He is the most interesting piece of the puzzle in this book. The style (misogyny especially is jarring) does not agree with me at all :/
I haven't read a lot of Victorian end of the century novels and there is a reason for that. That said, the book is the product of its time I should have known better what I was getting into. I have to admit that it was the last chapter and a half that added the third star to my rating. The characters seemed flat for the most part, huge chunks of the story skipped (Rudolf and the princess falling in love is the most obvious one) but just as the characters started to become alive for me and reasonings began making sense, the book ended.
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