Ruritanian romance is a genre of literature, film and theatre comprising novels, stories, plays and films set in a

fictional country A fictional country is a country that is made up for Fiction, fictional stories, and does not exist in real life, or one that people believe in without proof. Fictional lands appear most commonly as settings or subjects of myth, myths, literature, ...

, usually in Central or

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

, such as the " Ruritania" that gave the

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

its name. Such stories are typically swashbuckling

adventure novel Adventure fiction is a type of fiction that usually presents danger, or gives the reader a sense of excitement. Some adventure fiction also satisfies the literary definition of romance fiction. History In the introduction to the ''Encycloped ...

s, tales of high romance and intrigue, centered on the ruling classes, almost always aristocracy and royalty,

John Clute John Frederick Clute (born 12 September 1940) is a Canadian-born author and critic specializing in science fiction and fantasy literature who has lived in both England and the United States since 1969. He has been described as "an integral part ...

and John Grant, ''

The Encyclopedia of Fantasy ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' is a 1997 reference work covering fantasy fiction, edited by John Clute and John Grant (author), John Grant. As of November 2012, the full text of ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' is available online, as a compani ...

'', p. 826 although (for instance)

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

's novel '' Savrola'', in every other way a typical example of the genre, concerns a revolution to restore rightful parliamentary government in the

republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

an country of Laurania. The themes of honor, loyalty and love predominate, and the works frequently feature the restoration of legitimate government after a period of usurpation or dictatorship.

History of the genre

Romantic stories about the royalty of a fictional kingdom were common, for instance

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

's '' Prince Otto'' (1885). But it was the great popularity of Anthony Hope's '' The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1894) which set the type, with its handsome political decoy restoring the rightful king to the throne, and resulted in a burst of similar popular fiction, such as George Barr McCutcheon's Graustark novels (1901–27) and Frances Hodgson Burnett's '' The Lost Prince'' (1915), Edgar Rice Burrough's '' The Mad King'' (1914), and other homages. In children's literature, the 1938–39 Adventures of Tintin comic '' King Ottokar's Sceptre'' eschewed literal romance, but is an adventure about foiling a plot to depose the king of Syldavia. Literary critic John Sutherland says Eric Ambler brought the Ruritanian romance to "its highest pitch" with his 1939 novel '' The Mask of Dimitrios''. An earlier venture into Ruritanian themes was Ambler's very first novel, '' The Dark Frontier'' (1936), set in the fictional Balkan country of Ixania. George MacDonald Fraser's 1970 novel '' Royal Flash'' and the 1975 film '' Royal Flash'' based on it are set in the fictional Duchy of Strackenz, and its plot freely borrows many elements of Anthony Hope's book; indeed, Fraser's protagonist Harry Flashman audaciously claims that Hope had plagiarised his own exploits. The genre was widely spoofed and mocked.

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

's '' Arms and the Man'' (1894) parodied many elements. Dorothy Sayers's '' Have His Carcase'' (1932) featured as the murder victim a man deceived by his murderers because of his foolish belief in his royal ancestry, fed by endless reading of Ruritanian romances. The

Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act known for their anarchic humor, rapid-fire wordplay, and visual gags. They achieved success in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in 14 motion pictures. The core group consisted of brothers Chi ...

film '' Duck Soup'' (1933) is set in a bankrupt Freedonia. Antal Szerb's ''Oliver VII'' (1943) features a monarch of a fictional Central European state who plots a coup against himself and then flees to Venice in order to experience the life of an ordinary person. Similarly,

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

's '' A King in New York'' (1957) starts with King Igor Shahdov being overthrown by a revolution in his Eastern European country Estrovia and coming to live in exile in New York. In the satire '' The Mouse That Roared'' (1955), the Duchy of Grand Fenwick attempts to avoid bankruptcy by declaring war on the United States as a ploy for gaining American aid. In

Vladimir Nabokov Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov ( ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian and American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Born in Imperial Russia in 1899, Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Rus ...

's ''

Pale Fire ''Pale Fire'' is a 1962 novel by Vladimir Nabokov. The novel is presented as a 999-line poem titled "Pale Fire", written by the fictional poet John Shade, with a foreword, lengthy commentary and index written by Shade's neighbor and academic co ...

'' (1962), the main narrator has the delusion of being the incognito king of a "distant northern land" who romantically escaped a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

-backed revolution. Revised version in In the comic film '' The Great Race'' (1965), rally driver Professor Fate (played by Jack Lemmon) is the double of the Crown Prince of the tiny kingdom of Carpania. The popularity of the genre declined after the first part of the twentieth century. Aside from the change in literary taste, the royalist elements of Ruritanian romances became less plausible as many European monarchies receded even from memory, and their restorations grew less likely. Many elements of the genre have been transplanted into fantasy worlds, particularly those of fantasy of manners and

alternate history Alternate history (also referred to as alternative history, allohistory, althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As ...

. The

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

writer

Andre Norton Andre Alice Norton (born Alice Mary Norton, February 17, 1912 – March 17, 2005) was an American writer of science fiction and fantasy, who also wrote works of historical and contemporary fiction. She wrote primarily under the pen na ...

first reached success with a 1934 Ruritanian novel, ''The Prince Commands''.

and John Grant, ''

'' p. 827 Although "Ruritania" originally referred to a ''contemporary'' country, the idea has been adapted for use in

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...

. A subgenre of this is

historical romance Historical romance is a broad category of mass-market fiction focusing on romantic relationships in historical periods, which Lord Byron, Byron helped popularize in the early 19th century. The genre often takes the form of the novel. Varieties ...

, such as Jennifer Blake's ''Royal Seduction'' and its sequel ''Royal Passion''; both are set in the nineteenth century and feature Prince Rolfe (later King) and his son Prince Roderic respectively, of the fictional Balkan country of Ruthenia. ( Ruthenia is a genuine geographic name, identifying an area of eastern Europe somewhat to the north of the

Balkan Peninsula The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

, in the

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...

, but is not an independent country.)

Other Ruritanian settings in fiction

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

created the character Victor Von Doom, absolute monarch of Latveria in the Balkans, who combines recognizable elements of a Ruritanian monarch with being a formidable comics

supervillain A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...

. '' The Grand Budapest Hotel'', a 2014 comedy film written and directed by

Wes Anderson Wesley Wales Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American filmmaker. Wes Anderson filmography, His films are known for themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families. Due to his films' eccentricity, distinctive visual and narrative ...

, is set in the fictional nation of Zubrowka, a central European alpine state teetering on the outbreak of war. ''The Peacher Series'' by Michael Arram is 16 novels published online which occur largely in modern day Ruritania, renamed Ruthenia. ''The Crown of Tassilo'' is a second series of five more novels which occur in the period between Anthony Hope's novels (late 1880s) and modern day. The linked novels cover a wide range of genres but cover topics including the restoration of the Ruthenian monarchy, aristocratic intrigue, commoners, love, christianity, history of the fictional country, the Ruthenian language, and gay eroticism. Avram Davidson's Doctor Eszterhazy stories are set in a fictitious ramshackle Balkan empire resembling Austria-Hungary, but with Ruritanian characteristics.

Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin ( ; Kroeber; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author. She is best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the ''Earthsea'' fantas ...

set a number of short stories and a novel in the fictitious Eastern European land of "Orsinia", which has been identified as being simultaneously Ruritanian and naturalistic.

Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, filmmaker, and manga artist. He co-founded Studio Ghibli and serves as honorary chairman. Throughout his career, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Anime, Japanese ani ...

's animated film '' The Castle of Cagliostro'' is set in the fictional country of Cagliostro, inspired by Riviera and Monaco. ''

The Student Prince ''The Student Prince'' is an operetta in a prologue and four acts with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Dorothy Donnelly. It is based on Wilhelm Meyer-Förster's play ''Old Heidelberg (play), Old Heidelberg''. The piece has a scor ...

'', an operetta by

Sigmund Romberg Sigmund Romberg (July 29, 1887 – November 9, 1951) was a Hungarian-born American composer. He is best known for his Musical theatre, musicals and operettas, particularly ''The Student Prince'' (1924), ''The Desert Song'' (1926) and ''The New Moo ...

and Dorothy Donnelly, also adapted several times to film, has as its protagonist the heir apparent to the fictitious kingdom of Karlsberg who is sent away to the

University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

where he falls in love with a barmaid. The affair is doomed by his royal responsibilities when he is recalled to attend his dying grandfather, the king. Subsequent to his succession he is forced by duty to marry a well- dowered princess. '' The Tin Princess'' is a 1994 children's novel by Philip Pullman set in the fictional Central European country of Razkavia.

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

Robert Louis Stevenson's ''Prince Otto''Frances Hodgson Burnett's ''The Lost Prince''James Dunford Wood's ''Continental With Juice''
Historical fiction Romance genres Literary genres Europe in fiction category:Adventure fiction

History of the genre

Other Ruritanian settings in fiction

See also

References

External links