HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics. Set in the fictional country of Ruritania, The Prisoner of Zenda tells the story of Rudolf Rassendyll, identical cousin to King Rudolf of Ruritania, who must stand in for the king at his coronation when a plot to steal the crown leaves the king drugged and unable to attend. Rudolf must foil the plans of the king's brother, Prince Michael, and when the king is kidnapped and taken to a castle in Zenda, Rudolf must overcome the plots of the prince's mistress and his henchman in order to rescue him. Anthony Hope's swashbuckling adventure is held up as his greatest work of fiction and sparked its own genre, Ruritanian romance, named after the fictional country in which the story is set.

Anthony Hope's swashbuckling romance transports his English gentleman hero, Rudolf Rassendyll, from a comfortable life in London to fast-moving adventures in Ruritania, a mythical land steeped in political intrigue. Rassendyll bears a striking resemblance to Rudolf Elphberg who is about to be crowned King of Ruritania. When the rival to throne, Black Michael of Strelsau, attempts to seize power by imprisoning Elphberg in the Castle of Zenda, Rassendyll is obliged to impersonate the King to uphold the rightful sovereignty and ensure political stability. Rassendyll endures a trial of strength in his encounters with the notorious Rupert of Hentzau, and a test of a different sort as he grows to love the Princess Flavia. Five times filmed, The Prisioner of Zenda has been deservedly popular as a classic of romance and adventure since its publication in 1894.