''Rupert of Hentzau'' is a sequel by

Anthony Hope Sir Anthony Hope Hawkins, better known as Anthony Hope (9 February 1863 – 8 July 1933), was a British novelist and playwright. He was a prolific writer, especially of adventure novels but he is remembered predominantly for only two books: ''Th ...

to ''

The Prisoner of Zenda ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' is an 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope, in which the King of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus is unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces within the realm are such that, in order ...

'', written in 1895 but not published in book form until 1898. The novel was serialized in ''

The Pall Mall Magazine ''The Pall Mall Magazine'' was a monthly British literary magazine published between 1893 and 1914. Begun by William Waldorf Astor as an offshoot of ''The Pall Mall Gazette'', the magazine included poetry, short stories, serialized fiction, and ge ...

'' and ''

McClure's Magazine ''McClure's'' or ''McClure's Magazine'' (1893–1929) was an American illustrated monthly periodical popular at the turn of the 20th century. The magazine is credited with having started the tradition of muckraking journalism ( investigative, wat ...

'' from December 1897 through June 1898.

Synopsis

The story is set within a

framing narrative Framing may refer to: * Framing (construction), common carpentry work * Framing (law), providing false evidence or testimony to prove someone guilty of a crime * Framing (social sciences) * Framing (visual arts), a technique used to bring the foc ...

told by a

supporting character A supporting character is a character in a narrative that is not the focus of the primary storyline, but is important to the plot/protagonist, and appears or is mentioned in the story enough to be more than just a minor character or a cameo ap ...

from ''

''. The frame implies that the events related in both books took place in the late 1870s and early 1880s. This story commences three years after the conclusion of ''Zenda'', and deals with the same

fictional country A fictional country is a country that is made up for fictional stories, and does not exist in real life, or one that people believe in without proof. Sailors have always mistaken low clouds for land masses, and in later times this was given ...

somewhere in Germanic

Middle Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common History, historical, Society, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestanti ...

, the kingdom of

Ruritania Ruritania is a fictional country, originally located in central Europe as a setting for novels by Anthony Hope, such as ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1894). Nowadays the term connotes a quaint minor European country, or is used as a placeholder name f ...

. Most of the same characters recur: Rudolf Elphberg, the dissolute

absolute monarch Absolute monarchy (or Absolutism (European history), Absolutism as a doctrine) is a form of monarchy in which the monarch rules in their own right or power. In an absolute monarchy, the king or queen is by no means limited and has absolute pow ...

of Ruritania; Rudolf Rassendyll, the English gentleman who had acted as his

political decoy A political decoy is a person employed to impersonate a politician, to draw attention away from the real person or to take risks on that person's behalf. This can also apply to military figures, or civilians impersonated for political or espionag ...

, being his distant cousin and

look-alike A look-alike, double, or doppelgänger is a person who bears a strong physical resemblance to another person, excluding cases like twins and other instances of family resemblance. Some look-alikes have been notable individuals in their own right, ...

; Flavia, the princess, now queen; Rupert of Hentzau, the dashing well-born villain; Fritz von Tarlenheim, the loyal courtier; Colonel Sapt, the King's bodyguard; Lieutenant von Bernenstein, a loyal soldier. Queen Flavia, dutifully but unhappily married to her cousin Rudolf V, writes to her true love Rudolf Rassendyll. The letter is to be delivered by hand by von Tarlenheim, but von Tarlenheim is betrayed by Bauer, his servant, and it is stolen by the exiled Rupert of Hentzau and his loyal cousin the Count of Luzau-Rischenheim. Hentzau sees in it a chance to return to favour by informing the pathologically jealous and paranoid King. Rassendyll returns to Ruritania to aid the Queen, but is once more forced to impersonate the King after Rupert fatally shoots Rudolf V in a remote hunting lodge. After tracing Bauer to the house of Mother Holf, Rassendyll and Rupert engage in an epic duel. Hentzau is mortally wounded, and Rassendyll burns the letter. However, he is assassinated in his hour of triumph by Bauer—and thus is spared a crisis of conscience over whether or not to continue the royal deception for years. Rassendyll is buried as the King in a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

, while Sapt and Rassendyll's servant James stage a fire at the hunting lodge that burns the King's body beyond recognition. Rudolf V is buried as Rudolf Rassendyll, while Flavia reigns on alone, the last of the Elphberg dynasty.

Adaptations

Stage

After a successful year on tour, a theatrical adaptation of ''Rupert of Hentzau'' opened at the Lyceum Theatre in New York City on April 10, 1899. Written by Anthony Hope with contributions by Edward Everett Rose, the play starred James K. Hackett in the dual roles of King Rudolf and Rudolf Rassendyll.

Film

Several motion picture adaptations were made, although not as many as for ''Zenda''. Film versions of ''Rupert of Hentzau'' include the following: *1915 film version ''

Rupert of Hentzau ''Rupert of Hentzau'' is a sequel by Anthony Hope to ''The Prisoner of Zenda'', written in 1895 but not published in book form until 1898. The novel was serialized in '' The Pall Mall Magazine'' and '' McClure's Magazine'' from December 1897 t ...

'' starring

Gerald Ames Gerald Ames (12 September 1880 – 2 July 1933) was a British actor, film director and Olympic fencer. Ames was born in Blackheath, London in 1880 and first took up acting in 1905. He was a popular leading man in the post-First World War cinema ...

in the title role and Henry Ainley as Rassendyl *1923 Selznick Pictures film with

Lew Cody Lew Cody (born Louis Joseph Côté; February 22, 1884 – May 31, 1934) was an American stage and film actor whose career spanned the silent film and early sound film age. He gained notoriety in the late 1910s for playing "male vamps" in films ...

as Rupert, turning the tragic ending on its head: Flavia abdicates to marry Rassendyll, and Ruritania is declared a republic). *A spoof version, ''

Rupert of Hee Haw ''Rupert of Hee Haw'' is a 1924 American silent film starring Stan Laurel and drawing on the Ruritanian romance of ''Rupert of Hentzau'', Anthony Hope's sequel to ''The Prisoner of Zenda''. Plot In some European castle the King (Stan) is gett ...

'', was released in 1924.

Stan Laurel Stan Laurel (born Arthur Stanley Jefferson; 16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965) was an English comic actor, writer, and film director who was one half of the comedy double act, duo Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Ha ...

plays an alcoholic king, whose queen,

Mae Laurel Mae Charlotte Dahlberg (24 May 1888 – 1969), also known as Mae Laurel, was an Australian-born vaudeville performer and actress. She was Stan Laurel's professional partner and common-law wife from 1917 to 1925. Childhood and career in Australi ...

, deposes and replaces him with an identical salesman named Rudolph Razz. Razz's manners are so uncourtly that a courtier, James Finlayson, challenges him to a duel. (See also

Lord Haw-haw Lord Haw-Haw was a nickname applied to William Joyce, who broadcast Nazi propaganda to the UK from Germany during the Second World War. The broadcasts opened with "Germany calling, Germany calling", spoken in an affected upper-class English acc ...

.) *A 1957 British TV movie ''Rupert of Hentzau'' starring John Westbrook as Rudolf Rassendyll/The King, Sarah Lawson as Queen Flavia, Robert Shaw as Rupert of Hentzau,

Stanley Van Beers Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

as Colonel Sapt,

Maurice Kaufmann Maurice Harington Kaufmann (29 June 1927 – 21 September 1997) was a British actor of stage, film and television, who specialised in whodunits and horror films, from 1954 to 1981, when he retired. Personal life He was married to Honor Blackm ...

as Fritz von Tarlenheim, Jennifer Wright as Helga von Tarlenheim, John Gabriel,

Paul Eddington Paul Clark Eddington (18 June 1927 – 4 November 1995) was an English actor best known for playing Jerry Leadbetter in the television sitcom '' The Good Life'' (1975–78) and politician Jim Hacker in the sitcom ''Yes Minister'' (1980–84) an ...

as the Count Luzau-Rischenheim,

Jeremy Burnham John Richard Jeremy Burnham (28 May 1931 – 31 December 2020) was a British television actor of the 1960s and 1970s, and a screenwriter. Life and career Burnham began in the 1950s as an actor and appeared in many popular British TV series such ...

as Lieutenant Bernenstein, Diana Lamnert as Rosa Holf,

Meadows White A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetation, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring ...

as James and Margery Caldicott as Mother Holf. *A 1964 British television series ''

'' starring George Baker as Rudolf Rassendyl/The King,

Barbara Shelley Barbara Shelley (born Barbara Teresa Kowin; 13 February 1932 – 3 January 2021) was an English film and television actress. She appeared in more than a hundred films and television series. She was particularly known for her work in horror film ...

as Queen Flavia,

Peter Wyngarde Peter Paul Wyngarde (born Cyril Goldbert, 23 August 1927 – 15 January 2018) was a British television, stage and film actor from the late 1940s to the mid 1990s. He was best known for portraying the character Jason King, a bestselling novelist ...

as Rupert of Hentzau, John Phillips as Colonel Sapt (renamed Zapt),

Tristram Jellinek Tristram may refer to: Literature * the title character of ''The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman'', a novel by Laurence Sterne * the title character of ''Tristram of Lyonesse'', an epic poem by Algernon Charles Swinburne *"Tristra ...

as Fritz von Tarlenheim,

Derek Blomfield Derek Blomfield (31 August 1920 – 23 July 1964) was a British actor who appeared in a number of stage, film and television productions between 1935 and his death in 1964. Career He trained at LAMDA and made his first stage appearance a ...

as the Count of Luzau-Rischenheim,

John Breslin John Breslin ( ga, Seán Ó Breisleáin; born 1973 in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish engineer and full professor at the University of Galway. He is co-founder of the Irish websites boards.ie and adverts.ie. He co-authored the Irish bestselling b ...

as Bauer and Mark Burns as Lieutenant Bernenstein. All six episodes are now

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

. David O. Selznick considered making a film version of the novel, as a follow-up to his hugely successful 1937 film of ''

'', using again Douglas Fairbanks Jr. He decided not to because of the tragic subject matter and his commitment to filming ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind may also refer to: Music * ''Gone with the Wind'' ...

''. The 1923 silent film version had been produced by his father,

Lewis J. Selznick Lewis J. Selznick (May 2, 1870 or 1869 – January 25, 1933) was an American producer in the early years of the film industry. After initial involvement with World Film at Fort Lee, New Jersey, he established Selznick Pictures in California. B ...

, and his brother,

Myron Selznick Myron Selznick (October 5, 1898 – March 23, 1944) was an American film producer and talent agent. Life and career Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Selznick was the son of film executive Lewis J. Selznick and brother of renowned producer ...

. On screen, Rupert as a character has been played by matinee idols such as

Ramon Novarro José Ramón Gil Samaniego (February 6, 1899 – October 30, 1968), known professionally as Ramon Novarro, was a Mexican-American actor. He began his career in silent films in 1917 and eventually became a leading man and one of the top box ...

(1922),

Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Douglas Elton Fairbanks Jr., (December 9, 1909 – May 7, 2000) was an American actor, producer and decorated naval officer of World War II. He is best known for starring in such films as ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1937), '' Gunga Din'' (1939) ...

(1937), and James Mason (1952).

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1898 British novels English novels English adventure novels Novels by Anthony Hope J. W. Arrowsmith books Novels set in Europe Sequel novels Novels first published in serial form British novels adapted into films Eastern Europe in fiction