The Prisoner of Zenda. Anthony Hope

>

      ANTHONY HOPE

      The Prisoner of Zenda

      THE PRISONER OF ZENDA

      Rudolf Rassendyll is young, rich, and comes from an old English family. But he has the dark red hair and the long straight nose of the royal family of Ruritania – the result of a little family ‘accident’ many years before.

      Rudolf decides to visit Ruritania for the coronation of the new king. He arrives in the town of Zenda and goes for a quiet walk in the forest. By the next morning he is in the middle of adventures beyond his wildest dreams. With his new friends, Captain Sapt and Fritz von Tarlenheim, he is making plans to rescue the prisoner in the Castle of Zenda. Soon he is fighting the King’s enemies, Black Michael the Duke, and Rupert of Hentzau – and falling in love with the King’s cousin, the lovely Princess Flavia.

      And the King … But who is the King of Ruritania?

Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DPOxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide inOxford New YorkAuckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei TorontoWith offices inArgentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine VietnamOXFORD and OXFORD ENGLISH are registered trade marks of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countriesThis simplified edition © Oxford University Press 2008Database right Oxford University Press (maker)First published in Oxford Bookworms 19932 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1No unauthorized photocopyingAll rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the ELT Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address aboveYou must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose this same condition on any acquirerAny websites referred to in this publication are in the public domain and their addresses are provided by Oxford University Press for information only. Oxford University Press disclaims any responsibility for the contentISBN 978 0 19 479127 4A complete recording of this Bookworms edition of The Prisoner of Zenda is available on audio CD ISBN 978 0 19 479099 4Typeset by Wyvern Typesetting Ltd, BristolPrinted in Hong KongIllustration on page 3 by Dave MurrayWord count (main text): 10,710 wordsFor more information on the Oxford Bookworms Library, visit www.oup.com/bookwormswww.oup.com/bookwormse-Book ISBN 978 0 19 478665 2e-Book first published 2012

       1

      The Rassendylls – and the Elphbergs

      ‘I wonder when you’re going to do something useful, Rudolf,’ my brother’s wife said. She looked at me crossly over the breakfast table.

      ‘But why should I do anything, Rose?’ I answered, calmly eating my egg. ‘I’ve got nearly enough money for the things I want, and my brother, Robert, is a lord – Lord Burlesdon. I’m very happy.’

      ‘You’re twenty-nine, and you’ve done nothing except …’

      ‘Play about? It’s true. We Rassendylls are a rich and famous family, and we don’t need to do anything.’

      This made Rose angry. ‘Rich and famous families usually behave worse than less important families,’ she said.

      When I heard this, I touched my dark red hair. I knew what she meant.

      ‘I’m so pleased that Robert’s hair is black!’ she cried.

      Just then my brother, Robert, came in. When he looked at Rose, he could see that there was something wrong.