This thread is for discussing Ruritanian novels that you have read. A thread for discussion about writing Ruritanian novels is here: viewtopic.php?f=21&t=3413

Ruritanian novels got their name from the kingdom in the novel that first popularized the genre, The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope. The main characteristic of a Ruritanian novel is that it is set in our world in a fictional country (usually in Europe). It almost always involves an adventure, intrigue within the kingdom, and often romance.

Have you read any Ruritanian novels? If so, what did you like or dislike about them?

I've never heard of this genre of books before. I shall have to investigate, because they sound interesting.

I have read one, namely, the Princess Bride I find the genre to be an interesting concept; any other books like this out there?

eru

I think the book The Great and Terrible Quest is like that. Things mentioned in the story set the country in Europe, in the Middle Ages, but we never hear what country it is, and the country appears to be fictional.

I think the second most famous Ruritanian novel, back when they were at the height of their popularity, was Graustark by George McCutcheon. Others include The Mad King by Edgar Rice Burroughs and The Lost Prince by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

I've read PoZ.

What did you think of The Great and Terrible Quest, Aemi, and what did you think of The Prisoner of Zenda, Varon?

Guess I have read some without realizing, since I've read The Princess Bride and The Great and Terrible Quest.

I have read some books of this nature. The only one I can think of off the top of my head is The Prisoner of Zenda.

What did y'all think of them?

I was so-so about The Princess Bride. I really enjoyed the storyline, but the constant cutting in and out to the so called "past events" of the "author's" life got distracting. But the story world I really liked.

The Great and Terrible Quest was... interesting. Very thought provoking, although I read it a long time ago so I don't remember it all that clearly. I do recall that I enjoyed it, and it was a worthwhile read. Interesting setting; it seemed part fantasy, part historical at the time... not sure why.

I love love love The Great and Terrible Quest. It's possibly my favorite book. Mostly because I love the ending and it pretty much always makes me happy to read it.

I enjoyed The Princess Bride, too, but it doesn't particularly stand out in my mind.

I don't know if anything else I've read would fit the Ruritanian category or not. I started a story that would probably fit, though.

It had a good concept and his writing was engaging but it is really slow moving at times. This not unusual in books from this period since people had longer attention spans than they do today.

TPoZ was pretty good, but I don't remember much of it.

I liked The Great and Terrible Quest for its storyline. Almost the whole time, you don't even know what the quest is for, but there is this relentless feeling of urgency to it. For the two main characters, the quest is partly a search for their own identities, with only fragments of memory to go on.
And there are fantastical elements to it, primarily a prophecy that must be fulfilled. The wounded knight does not remember the last and most important line of the poem until the end of the book, and that was cool, too. Very catchy, and I still remember how it went:

Silver hidden in the gold
Young man hidden in the old
Laughing lord with weeping eyes
Bring---

That's all you get till the very end, but the ending is awesome!
[end book trailer here]

Yes, I'd say it definitely is a Ruritanian novel.

I haven't read The Princess Bride or The Great and Terrible Quest, but the latter sounds interesting, while the movie of the former scared me away from it.

The Prisoner of Zenda, being the most famous Ruritanian novel and the novel from which the type got its name, is quite good. I'm thinking about writing a full review of it for my blog, so if I do, I'll post a link on this thread.

The Mad King and The Rider, both by Edgar Rice Burroughs, were good, though I don't remember them that well. Westmark, by Lloyd Alexander, was okay, but not compelling enough to make me want to read the rest of the series.

IMHO Brendan is right; Princess Bride makes a much better movie than book.

eru

Here's a link to my review of The Prisoner of Zenda: http://jonathangarner.blogspot.com/2011 ... -hope.html

I think the Princess Diaries might count as Ruritarian? I'm not sure though. There's not really any fantasy in them except the made up country.

And what about Ella Enchanted? I'm wondering if that's a little TOO fantasy to be Ruritarian.

The Princess Diaries would loosely count as Ruritanian, for the influence of the type is there. I'm not sure about Ella Enchanted--if it's supposed to be taking place in a fictional European country, then I think it would count.

Ella Enchanted doesn't occur here on earth, I believe.... But I'm not sure. I haven't read the book.

Princess Diaries would be Ruritanian, I think. Although, Jonathan, is it only Ruritanian because of the tampering with monarchy? Genovia is an actual place, isn't it?

I looked it up. Genovia is a fictional kingdom, so it does count as Ruritanian.

Ah! I see. Cool.

I've started reading The Mad King. It's really good so far!

I knew I knew something and I finally remembered it! It's not a novel actually, but the Mouse that Roared would be Ruritanian, right? It's about a fictional kingdom that makes war with the United States. It's a hilarious play, that they made into an even funnier movie. (I talked about doing the play next year, actually...)

I read it a long time ago and remember liking it. Let us know what you think of it when you're done.


It sounds like it would be Ruritanian. Probably just about anything set in a fictional country (especially European), including plays and films, could be considered Ruritanian.

By the way, what does the actual word Ruritarian mean? I've never heard it before, and I can't spell it to save my life...

In spelling Ruritanian, note that the first 'n' is often confused with an 'r'. Ruritanian comes from Ruritania, which was the fictional kingdom in The Prisoner of Zenda, the novel that popularized the use of fictional kingdoms in literature.

Ah, I see. That's why it sounds like a made up word... it is one! They could have picked something easier to say.

Thanks, Jonathan!

You're welcome!

The alternate name for this novel type is Graustarkian, which is probably worse...

This thread inspired me to download the ebook and read Anthony Hope, so I did. My verdict is mainly like the Bard's. I would recommend the first book though. He also wrote a sequel named 'Rupert of Hentzau' which I found extremely...different from the first. *shrugs* They're both pretty good though.

I wonder if they have that other one (Graustarkian) in ebook form, public domain. If so I'll have to go check it out.

eru

Did you finish The Mad King, Joe?


I think it's at least available on Gutenberg. Let us know what you think of it, if you read it.

Yes I did finish it. Over all it was a pretty good action type Burroughs book. Definitely fun but not his best.

That's how I felt about it, too.