The Prisoner of Zenda
On the eve of his coronation, the King of Ruritania is drugged into a stupor, and the plotters have him where they want him. His only hope is Rudolf Rassendyll, an idle English gentleman who happens to be a distant cousin and a near-perfect double. Pressed into a royal masquerade, Rassendyll must hold the throne, outwit the scheming Black Michael and the dashing villain Rupert of Hentzau, and try not to fall for the Princess Flavia he has no right to court. Anthony Hope’s 1894 adventure proved so popular it named a whole genre, the Ruritanian romance, and its blend of swordplay, disguise, and reluctant honor has been filmed again and again. Free PDF and EPUB editions are available to download.
About the Author
Anthony Hope, born Sir Anthony Hope Hawkins (1863-1933), was an English barrister who turned to fiction and found lasting fame with The Prisoner of Zenda and its sequel Rupert of Hentzau. His invented kingdom of Ruritania gave a whole subgenre of romance its name.
See all books by Anthony Hope →
Listen to The Prisoner of Zenda Audiobook Free
Listen to The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope free online. The full audiobook (5 hr 42 min, 22 chapters, read by Andy Minter (1934-2017)) streams free on this page.
The Prisoner of Zenda (1894) is a public domain work.
| # | Chapter | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Rassendylls with a Word on the Elphbergs | 13:41 | |
| 2 | Concerning the Colour of Men's Hair | 14:33 | |
| 3 | A Merry Evening with a Distant Relative | 17:24 | |
| 4 | The King Keeps his Appointment | 13:34 | |
| 5 | The Adventures of an Understudy | 15:29 | |
| 6 | The Secret of a Cellar | 14:25 | |
| 7 | His Majesty Sleeps in Strelsau | 14:06 | |
| 8 | A Fair Cousin and a Dark Brother | 17:23 | |
| 9 | A New Use for a Tea-Table | 17:10 | |
| 10 | A Great Chance for a Villain | 16:30 | |
| 11 | Hunting a Very Big Boar | 17:27 | |
| 12 | I Receive a Visitor and Bait a Hook | 15:13 | |
| 13 | An Improvement on Jacob's Ladder | 16:07 | |
| 14 | A Night Outside the Castle | 15:18 | |
| 15 | I Talk with a Tempter | 16:37 | |
| 16 | A Desperate Plan | 15:17 | |
| 17 | Young Rupert's Midnight Diversions | 14:54 | |
| 18 | The Forcing of the Trap | 13:12 | |
| 19 | Face to Face in the Forest | 14:25 | |
| 20 | The Prisoner and the King | 17:11 | |
| 21 | If Love Were All! | 16:44 | |
| 22 | Present, Past--and Future? | 15:49 |
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