description: Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote this tale of confused identity and royal intrigue in 1914 and 1915, as World War I was getting ready to it means to be an homage to Anthony Hope's PRISONER OF ZENDA. But, of course, it isn't Hope writing, but the events that led to the war inform the book, and it speaks to the real events happening as Burroughs wrote. That makes it a very different story from Hope's almost-whimsical novel. Part of the reason Burroughs left such a lasting mark on the world is because he was engaged in the events that surrounded him; the news troubled him deeply and personally. As well it might! He was writing, as he always did, on fantastical topics; but it is the fantastic nature of the twentieth century that is the real text of the man's career.
language: English
title: The Mad King
titlecomplete: The Mad King
characters: Barney Custer
genres: Fiction, Action, Historical, Pulp, Science Fiction, Adventure, Speculative Fiction, Classics, Historical Fiction, Fantasy
ratings_count: 817
places: Ludstadt, Lutha
series: The Custer Siblings
publisher: Wildside Pr