The Prisoner of Zenda emerged in 1894 after its author conceived the plot while walking through London, quickly establishing a genre of political intrigue set in fictional European kingdoms. Anthony Hope, born in 1863, transitioned from a promising legal career to full-time writing following the rapid success of his Ruritanian masterpiece and its later sequel.
Legal Training and Early Writing
Educated at St John's School, Leatherhead, and Balliol College, Oxford, he achieved first-class honours in Classical Moderations and Literae Humaniores. He trained as a barrister, being called to the Bar by the Middle Temple in 1887. While pupilling under H. H. Asquith, he began writing, though his first book, A Man of Mark (1890), required self-publishing. He produced Father Stafford in 1891 and Mr Witt's Widow in 1892, while also unsuccessfully contesting the 1892 Wycombe election as a Liberal candidate.
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In 1894, he published The Dolly Dialogues, a series of sketches originally appearing in The Westminster Gazette and illustrated by Arthur Rackham. His defining work, The Prisoner of Zenda, followed later that year. Its protagonist, Rudolf Rassendyll, became a literary touchstone for adventure fiction. The success of this novel persuaded him to abandon the Bar. He later produced a sequel, Rupert of Hentzau (1898), and continued with diverse titles including The God in the Car and The Chronicles of Count Antonio.
Later Career and Service
His output remained significant throughout the early twentieth century, with publications such as The King's Mirror (1899), Quisanté (1900), and The Intrusions of Peggy (1902). He served as chairman of the Society of Authors committee starting in 1900. During the First World War, he authored political non-fiction for the Ministry of Information. His wartime contributions were recognised with a Knight Bachelor title in 1918. He eventually published his autobiography, Memories and Notes, in 1927.
Death and Legacy
He died of throat cancer in 1933 at the age of 70, passing away at his country home, Heath Farm, located at Walton-on-the-Hill, Surrey. He was buried at the Church of St. Mary & St. Nicholas, Leatherhead. A blue plaque marks his former London residence in Bedford Square. Over his lifetime, he produced 32 volumes of fiction, though contemporary criticism remained divided on his sustained professional quality.
Fast facts
- Born: 1863, London
- Died: 1933, Walton-on-the-Hill
- Education: Balliol College, Oxford
- Legal qualification: Barrister, Middle Temple
- Honour: Knight Bachelor, 1918
- Major works: The Prisoner of Zenda, Rupert of Hentzau
- Spouse: Elizabeth Somerville
- Burial: Church of St. Mary & St. Nicholas, Leatherhead
Questions readers ask
What is Ruritanian romance?
It is a literary genre defined by adventure novels set in fictional, often unstable, European countries, named after the fictional kingdom of Ruritania featured in his books.
Why did he leave his legal career?
The immediate commercial and critical success of his 1894 novel, The Prisoner of Zenda, provided sufficient incentive to leave the bar and pursue writing full-time.
Achievements
- Knight Bachelor
