The Prisoner of Zenda

Synopsis

" 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. ... Fortuitously, an English gentleman on holiday in Ruritania who resembles the monarch is persuaded to act as his political decoy ..." "The popularity of the novels inspired the Ruritanian romance genre of literature, film, and theatre ..." --Wikipedia, novel article (above)