The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope
Anthony Hope Hawkins' Prisoner of Zenda is a nineteenth-century action and thriller novel about the kidnapping of the future king of fictional Ruritania. This novel was the beginning of a long series of similar novels taking place in fictional European worlds, including perhaps the most famous: The Princess Bride.
The novel begins shortly before the king's coronation. Without this coronation, he will not legally and truly be king due to the internal workings of the government in Ruritania, so it is emphasized that it is imperative that the coronation take place successfully. The king, however, is drugged and kidnapped so that he cannot attend the ceremony, and is locked up in the small town of Zenda.
While imprisoned, the plot proceeds to have Michael (King Rudolf's half-brother) claim the throne as the next rightful heir to the monarchy. Michael's lover, Antoinette de Mauban, and Count Rupert of Hentzau, who later becomes a more prominent villain, have their own goals and patterns in mind that complicate matters and make both the original coronation and the seditious plot that it follows all the more difficult to successfully plot.
In order to prevent Michael from succeeding the throne, Rudolf's advisers persuade the king's English cousin, Rudolf Rassendyll, to impersonate him and take the crown in his place, and then have them returned to the rightful king whenever he is found; if he's not, Rudolf can be some kind of acting king. Unfortunately, Rudolf falls in love with the king's fiancée, Princess Flavia, but is unable to reveal her true identity to her because it will ruin their plot. Rudolf sets out and manages to save the king, who is then able to accept the crown and legally become the king. Unfortunately, Flavia and cousin Rudolf have to separate despite their burgeoning romance.
For his sister-in-law, Lady Rose Burlesdon, Rudolf Rassendyll is a great disappointment. First, he is twenty-nine and has no useful business. Second, he bears such a striking resemblance to the Elphbergs, the ruling house of Ruritania, that for Rose he is a constant reminder of an old scandal involving her husband's family. More than a hundred years earlier, a prince from the country of Ruritania had visited England and had been involved with the wife of one of Rassendyll's men. He was born a child who had red hair and the big, straight nose of the Elphbergs. Since that unfortunate event, five or six descendants of the English lady and the Ruritan prince have had the characteristic nose and red hair of their royal ancestor. Rose finds Rudolf's red hair and wide nose a shame for this reason.
Rassendyll himself, however, does not care about his resemblance to the Ruritan royal family. A new king will be crowned in that country within a few weeks and Rassendyll decides to travel to Ruritania for the coronation to get a closer view of his unclaimed relatives. Realizing that his brother and sister-in-law will try to stop him from embarking on the journey if they know his plans, he tells them that he will tour Tyrol. After leaving England, his first stop is Paris, where he learns more about the affairs of the country he will have to visit. The new king, also called Rudolf, has a half-brother, Michael, Duke of Strelsau. Michael would have liked to become king, and it is hinted that he will try to prevent Rodolfo's coronation. Rassendyll also discovers that there is a beautiful lady, Antoinette de Mauban, who loves Michael and has her favor. She too is traveling to Ruritania for her coronation.
When she reaches Ruritania and finds the capital crowded, ...
