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A review by millah
The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
I was surprised by how gay this book was, I didn't even need to read between the lines, it was right there. The main character, Rudolph, was quite a rogue, and seemed to like both women and men. He was an asshole, as well, though. "The Prisoner of Zenda" was a classic gothic novel with swashbuckling, impostor kings, traitors, madmen, beautiful women, and I only discovered it because of KJ Charles' retelling/ adaptation, "Henchmen of Zenda". I expected to be bored by this old book, but I'll be honest, this was fun. The characters and the story made me smile and chuckle, sometimes because it was intended to be fun, and sometimes because this story was written 130 years ago. There was misogyny, classism, violence, and a lot of questionable things, honestly. Still, the story was witty, well-paced and held up surprisingly well in many ways. The audiobook narration lifted the story quite a bit, as well.
I read an old Norwegian (New Norwegian!) translation, from 1900, at about the same time as I listened to the audiobook, mostly out of curiosity. The translation was great. The title was "Kong Tvi-menning," Tvimenning is an old Norse word and isn't used today, but it means two people doing something together, a couple, basically. You could say to "riða tvímenning," that two people ride on one horse together. Tvimenning could also be a tool used by two people. I found it amusing that the word in a way could mean the same as first cousin, or cousin. In Norway, we use "tre-menning" for second cousins, while we use other words for first cousins (fetter/ kusine/ søskenbarn).
While I'm ranting about things vaguely related to this book: Halfway through the story, I realised that "The Prisoner of Zenda" was the original story that inspired the Mickey Mouse story I read when I was a kid, about Mickey Mouse and "the doppelganger king", from 1937. I couldn't find the English title of this story, but I read it in a Norwegian Mickey Mouse collection book that came out in 1982 (Vi Minni og Mikke Mus). Also, before reading this, I didn't know that there are a lot of Zenda-movies out there (so many movies), but now, I know.
I read an old Norwegian (New Norwegian!) translation, from 1900, at about the same time as I listened to the audiobook, mostly out of curiosity. The translation was great. The title was "Kong Tvi-menning," Tvimenning is an old Norse word and isn't used today, but it means two people doing something together, a couple, basically. You could say to "riða tvímenning," that two people ride on one horse together. Tvimenning could also be a tool used by two people. I found it amusing that the word in a way could mean the same as first cousin, or cousin. In Norway, we use "tre-menning" for second cousins, while we use other words for first cousins (fetter/ kusine/ søskenbarn).
While I'm ranting about things vaguely related to this book: Halfway through the story, I realised that "The Prisoner of Zenda" was the original story that inspired the Mickey Mouse story I read when I was a kid, about Mickey Mouse and "the doppelganger king", from 1937. I couldn't find the English title of this story, but I read it in a Norwegian Mickey Mouse collection book that came out in 1982 (Vi Minni og Mikke Mus). Also, before reading this, I didn't know that there are a lot of Zenda-movies out there (so many movies), but now, I know.