Rating: 
Summary: great book, includes romance, sword fights, everything!!
Review: this book is great for anyone! It has a little bit of comedy, a little bit of romance, a little bit of princesses, sword fights, and medival culture. It is also written very very well, and it is from an astounding author!! I reccommend this book greatly!
Rating: 
Summary: A romantic classic to treasure for a lifetime
Review: This is one classic romantic adventure that withstands the test of time. I've read it over and over again since discovering it as a teenager, and still rank it among my most beloved books. Be sure to read the sequel "Rupert of Hentzau," which completes the saga of its dashing hero (and equally dashing villain).
Rating:
Summary: Perfect Action/Adventure Book
Review: When will I learn to listen to my mom? She told me to read this book several times, so finally I did, and I am so GLAD! This is the best action book I have ever read. Sword fights and princesses, stuffy British sister-in-laws, and a bad guy you can't help but love. Ah, arrogance, sometimes you just have to admire it--and this book has it ALL! I recommend to everyone age 10 and up who enjoy a good, fast read with excellent plot development, engaging characters, and just enough romance.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect Action/Adventure Book
Review: When will I learn to listen to my mom? She told me to read this book several times, so finally I did, and I am so GLAD! This is the best action book I have ever read. Sword fights and princesses, stuffy British sister-in-laws, and a bad guy you can't help but love. Ah, arrogance, sometimes you just have to admire it--and this book has it ALL! I recommend to everyone age 10 and up who enjoy a good, fast read with excellent plot development, engaging characters, and just enough romance.
Rating:
Summary: Long live the King of swashbuckler novels!
Review: [This is a review of the Penguin edition dual-volume of 'Prisoner' and 'Rupert']I've long been a fan of Errol Flynn swashbucklers and the classic works of prolific (and unjustly forgotten) Rafael Sabatini, but if you want the greatest swashbuckler novel of them all, Anthony Hope's "The Prisoner of Zenda" is a classic you'll come back to again and again: over a hundred years after being written, it's still as sharp as a rapier point. "The Prisoner of Zenda" is something of a rarity: a Victorian adventure novel that is as fresh and entertaining to read in this modern jaded age as it was in 1894. If you've ever seen one of the many movie adaptations you already know the story: Rudolf Rassendyll, an Englishman vacationing in the tiny European country of Ruritania, meets and befriends the soon-to-be-crowned King Rudolf--his exact and identical double. When the King is kidnapped by the dastardly Black Michael, Rassendyll must impersonate the King in the coronation ceremony...and in the heart of the Queen. Hope's handling of the romance between Rassendyll and Queen Flavia is both a daring and romantic love story and a subtle examination of the meaning of honor and duty to a gentleman. Of course there's plenty of swordplay and derring-do along the way (put on an Erich Korngold CD while reading for the best effect). If Tom Clancy was writing this one, there'd be nuclear weapons instead of swords and email instead of telegrams, but even he couldn't pull off the simple but subtle romantic story and the triumphant but poignant ending. I recommend this Penguin edition especially because unlike any other editions of "The Prisoner of Zenda" currently available, it also contains Hope's lesser but still worthy sequel "Rupert of Hentzau," which brings Rassendyll back to Ruritania years later to match wits and swords with Michael's henchman, bringing an end to the saga so satisfyingly that there's no need for a third adventure. I loved both but would definitely rank "Rupert" a level below "Prisoner": "Rupert" is narrated by Fritz, the faithful royal retainer from "Prisoner," and suffers from much of the action taking place outside Fritz's personal view and being retold later on. Still, it's a stunning and emotional end to the story, and one which'll bring a proper tear to your eye. Like Rudolf of Ruritania, Anthony Hope is a king...of adventure novels. Unlike Rudolf, he has no equal.
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