The Prisoner of Zenda (Oxford World's Classics)
'Hope's Rattling Yarn seems to live on and on, even if it is not a masterpiece of its genre like Rider Haggard's She; it has been filmed no less than five times. Rudolf Rassendyll and Rupert of Hentzau have become almost household names and the imaginary Ruritania has actually become a standard English word. Perhaps Oxford will now reissue other Hope historical romances, such as Sophie of Kravonia. Brian Fallon, Irish Times'this is one of those rattling good yarns whose heart is so solidly in the right place that one is prepared to forgive some shoddy writing at the margins' Daily Telegraph`This fast-moving, well-placed romance reaffirmed the pride of English men in what they thought they had :a sense of justice, profound honour and adroitness, all worn lightly.' The Sunday Times'a gallant guide to the way an English gentleman should conduct himself with foreigners and women'