Ruritania

This is a book about the long cultural shadow cast by a single bestselling novel Anthony Hope's <em>The Prisoner of Zenda</em> (1894) which introduced Ruritania a colourful pocket kingdom. In this swashbuckling tale Englishman Rudolf Rassendyll impersonates the king of Ruritania to foil a coup but faces a dilemma when he falls for the lovely Princess Flavia. Hope's novel inspired stage and screen adaptations place names and even a board game but it also launched a whole new subgenre the Ruritanian romance. The new form offered swordplay royal romance and splendid uniforms and gowns in such settings as Alasia Balaria and Cadonia. <p/>This study explores both the original appeal of <em>The Prisoner of Zenda</em> and the extraordinary longevity and adaptability of the Ruritanian formula which it is argued has been rooted in a lingering fascination with royalty and the pocket kingdom's capacity to hold a looking glass up to Britain and later the United States. Individual chapters look at Hope's novel and its stage and film adaptations; at the forgotten American versions of Ruritania; at the chocolate-box principalities of the musical stage; at Cold War reworkings of the formula; and at Ruritania's recent reappearance in young adult fiction and made-for-television Christmas movies. The adventures of Ruritania have involved a diverse list of contributors including John Buchan P.G Wodehouse Agatha Christie Vladimir Nabokov and Ian Fleming among the writers; Sigmund Romberg and Ivor Novello among the composers; Erich Von Stroheim and David O. Selznick among the film-makers; and Robert Donat Madeleine Carroll Peter Ustinov Peter Sellers and Anne Hathaway among the performers.<br>