Adventure · Romance
The Prisoner of Zenda
An idle Englishman who looks exactly like a kidnapped king must take his place on the throne.
Five levels, about 80 languages
- A2ElementaryShort sentences and everyday words.
- B1IntermediateYou follow clear stories about familiar things.
- B2Upper intermediateLonger sentences, richer vocabulary.
- C1AdvancedClose to the original, lightly condensed.
- C2ProficientThe complete novel.
One purchase is one book, in one language, at one level: $4.99. Another level of a book you own is $1.99. Editions nobody has asked for yet are written on request: chapter 1 in a few minutes, the rest while you read. How the levels work.
About the book
The king’s double
Rudolf Rassendyll is twenty-nine, comfortable and idle, with red hair and a long, straight nose that embarrass his family, because they come from an old scandal involving the royal house of Ruritania. On a whim he travels to that small European kingdom to see its new king crowned. In a forest near the castle of Zenda he meets the king himself, who looks exactly like him. On the morning of the coronation the king is drugged, and Rassendyll, to save the throne from the king’s half-brother, Black Michael, takes his place. Anthony Hope published the novel in 1894, and “Ruritanian” has meant an imaginary little kingdom ever since.
Why it works for learners
The novel is short, fast and told in the first person by a narrator with a light, self-mocking voice. Every chapter turns on a clear question: will he be found out, can he reach the castle, whom can he trust? The vocabulary is courts and castles: king, crown, guard, prisoner, sword, letter, duty, honor. The dialogue is crisp, and the key characters (the loyal old Colonel Sapt, the dashing villain Rupert of Hentzau, Princess Flavia) are easy to keep apart.
Which level to start at
B1 is ideal; the plot is simple and the book is short enough to finish. A2 works if you want a first novel with a strong hook. At B2 and above Rassendyll’s irony becomes part of the pleasure, and at C1 and C2 Hope’s style stays very readable, because it was written to be.
Read next
- The Prince and the Pauper, another royal swap
- The Scarlet Pimpernel, a hero hiding in plain sight
- The Three Musketeers, swords, queens and loyalty
