"The Prisoner of Zenda" by Anthony Hope is a charming, Victorian action-adventure whose exciting, pregnant premise is balanced by a thin plot and even thinner characters. The novel, published in 1894, follows the adventure of Rudolf Rassendyll, a young Englishman on a Continental excursion, who travels to Ruritania, a central European monarchy which is the home of his ancestors. When the King (whom Rudolf bores an uncanny resemblance to) is kidnapped by his villainous half-brother, Rudolf is forced to take his place and enter into a complex and exciting mix of intrigue in order to rescue the king and restore him to the throne before it is too late.

The novel's plot is simple but provides the reader with the possibility a rich world where the imagination is really the limit. But I feel that at about 150 pages, Hope did not explore the world he created nearly to the extent he could have done. This is partially because the plot revolves around a race against the clock to save the true king but I also feel that the author could have lingered longer on building his intriguing setting. Furthermore, most of the characters feel wooden, though this is offset by Rassendyll's entertaining first-person narration and the suave, dangerous charm of one of the story's later villains, Rupert Hentzau, whom according to Gary Hoppenstand, should be seen along with Professor Moriarty and Fu Manchu as one of nineteenth century fiction's greatest villains. Like the events of the story, most of the characters have interesting outlines but in the end are not fleshed out as much as I would have liked. This is especially true of the female characters, most notably the Princess Flavia, who could have been quite an interesting character in her own right. One curiousity for me is if the plot and characters are given more nuances in the novel's sequel "Rupert of Hentzau" (1895).

"The Prisoner of Zenda" has inspired an entire genre of literature (the Ruritanian Romance) that can be seen in such works as Herge's Tintin story "King Ottokar's Scepter" and the Graustark novels. Americans may be more familiar with the story through its popular 1937 film version and the early 1990s film "Dave" which took the novel's broad premise and adapted it to the American presidency.

Overall, the novel was enjoyable - a perfect weekend afternoon read!