The protagonist is the Hon. Rudolf Rassendyll, younger brother of the Earl of Burlesdon and (through an ancestor's sexual indiscretion) a distant cousin of Rudolf V, the heir apparent King of Ruritania (a Germanic kingdom situated 'twixt the German and Austrian Empires). King Rudolf is a hard-drinking, feckless playboy, unpopular with the common people, but supported by the aristocracy, the Church, the Army, and the rich classes in general. His political rival is his younger half-brother, Michael, Duke and Governor of Strelsau, the capital city. Michael has no legitimate claim to the throne, because he is the son of their father's second, morganatic marriage: there are hints, about his swarthy appearance and Rassendyll's taunting him as a '... Continuar leyendo "The prisoner of zenda" »