Rupert of Hentzau: From The Memoirs of Fritz Von Tarlenheim

Picking up some years after The Prisoner of Zenda leaves off, this one brings our hero back to Ruritania to set to rights a blunder which has arisen from the damage he inadvertently did the last time he sojourned in that mythical Balkan state. Then the dashing Englishman, and royal look-alike, Rudolf Rassyndyll, played the king to save a life and a kingdom.But, in so doing, he also won the love of the king's future wife. Now a Queen, the lovely Flavia cannot forego one final good-bye to her beloved Rudolf but this, through the machinations of the nefarious Rupert of Hentzau, promises to be her downfall. To rescue the name and honor of the woman he loves, Rudolf Rassyndyll sneaks back to Ruritania with the help of the comrades of his earlier adventure.But this tale, though full of intrigue and marvelously paced, suffers from the fact that the narrator this time (unlike what was seen in The Prisoner of Zenda) is not privy to all of the action and so must recount and reconstruct as he goes along. So there is an odd distance from the fun this time out and the dashing hero, Rudolf, is seen only from afar. He is, in fact, something of a shadow player here and only slightly more real to us than the almost ghostly villain, Rupert of Hentzau, after whom this book is named. This Rupert, himself, was the henchman of Black Michael, who drove the plot in "Zenda." Rupert fled at the end of that tale with Rudolf Rassyndyll and his colleague, Fritz Tarlenheim, in hot pursuit. Now the dashing and scheming Rupert returns to re-claim his property in Ruritania, which he means to do at the expense of the Queen who loves Rassyndyll. And so the plot is set in motion.But Rassyndyll never comes fully to life this time around and the tale ends on a sad and tragic note. Rudolf is the noble hero par excellence, and no less noble are his many companions in the adventure. All are fine folk, torn by their sensitivities and loyalties. As a result there is something rather unreal about it all which detracts from the sense of satisfaction of the telling. But then it is a fairy tale of sorts, isn't it, one that is certainly well-paced and fun to read. Still, I wish Anthony Hope had fleshed his players out a bit more, especially the villains, as Rupert of Hentzau seems almost a non-entity this time out (he was so much more interesting in "Zenda") and Rudolf a mere shadow of what he was before. Tarlenheim, the narrator this go-round, seems rather more of a bumbler than a doer and Sapt far less capable than before. Flavia, herself, is certainly more foolish. In sum, while this was a fun read, I think they'd all have been better off if Hope had stopped after Rudolf rescued the king from Zenda.

Anthony Hope continues his gripping saga of the Prisoner of Zenda in this adventureous sequel. Rupert of Hentzau is well written and keeps the reader in constant suspense. Hope follows his traditional writing style of unexpected twists in the end. The book builds the reader up full of emotion and then concludes by purging the reader of all emotions. Rupert of Hentzau is full of deuls, escapes, conspiracies, and love. At the start one might be inclined to pause and stop reading, but as the book continues this is no longer an option. This is truly a worthy sequel and only makes you respect Rudolf Rassendel more for his quick wit, ability to overcome obstacles and continous love for Queen Flavia. Our hero ends the book the same manner that he finished Prisoner of Zenda, as a gentleman worthy to be a king.