Anthony Hope Books in Order (Updated September 8, 2026)

Anthony Hope was the pen name of British novelist and playwright Anthony Hope Hawkins. He is remembered above all for creating Ruritania, the fictional Central European kingdom of The Prisoner of Zenda, but his career also included political novels, social comedy, romantic adventure, short stories, plays, wartime writing, and autobiography.

The central reading-order issue is the Ruritanian sequence. Hope published The Prisoner of Zenda first, later wrote the historical prequel collection The Heart of Princess Osra, and then continued Rudolf Rassendyll’s story in Rupert of Hentzau. This means publication order and internal chronology are different.

The Best Place to Start With Anthony Hope

Best starting point: begin with The Prisoner of Zenda. It created the version of Ruritania that made Hope famous and introduces Rudolf Rassendyll, King Rudolf, Princess Flavia, Colonel Sapt, Fritz von Tarlenheim, and Rupert of Hentzau.

• Ruritania: three Hope books share the setting, but they do not belong in publication order if arranged by historical chronology.
• Best first-read order: The Prisoner of Zenda, The Heart of Princess Osra, then Rupert of Hentzau.
• Best story chronology: The Heart of Princess Osra, The Prisoner of Zenda, Rupert of Hentzau.
• The Dolly Dialogues: recurring social sketches, separate from Ruritania.
• Most other novels: standalone, even when they involve invented kingdoms, aristocracy, politics, or romantic adventure.

Ruritania Books in Publication Order

Hope’s three original Ruritanian books appeared in this order:

1. The Prisoner of Zenda (1894)
2. The Heart of Princess Osra (1896)
3. Rupert of Hentzau (1898)

Recommended first-read order: use this publication sequence. The original novel establishes Ruritania for readers, the Osra stories expand its historical background, and Rupert of Hentzau then returns to the unresolved personal and political consequences of The Prisoner of Zenda.

Ruritania Books in Chronological Story Order

Internal chronology changes the order because The Heart of Princess Osra is set in the eighteenth century, well before Rudolf Rassendyll’s nineteenth-century adventures.

1. The Heart of Princess Osra
2. The Prisoner of Zenda
3. Rupert of Hentzau

Best for a reread: this sequence follows the history of Ruritania forward. It is less effective as a first introduction because the Osra material assumes that readers already understand why the kingdom and its ruling family matter.

Why The Prisoner of Zenda Should Still Be Read First

The Prisoner of Zenda is not chronologically the earliest Ruritanian book, but it is the foundation of the series. The novel establishes the political structure, the Elphberg dynasty, the resemblance between Rudolf Rassendyll and the king, and the personal conflict involving Princess Flavia.

The historical background supplied by The Heart of Princess Osra works better once the reader already knows Ruritania as a fictional kingdom. It becomes enrichment rather than required setup.

Spoiler consideration: Rupert of Hentzau should definitely remain after The Prisoner of Zenda. It is a direct sequel and depends on the relationships and unresolved tensions of the first novel.

What Exactly Is The Heart of Princess Osra?

The Heart of Princess Osra is a linked collection of nine stories set in Ruritania generations before The Prisoner of Zenda. Princess Osra belongs to the House of Elphberg, tying the book directly to the dynasty readers encounter in the later-set novels.

The collection is a prequel in setting rather than a conventional single-plot novel. Its individual stories focus heavily on courtship, romantic complications, and the Princess’s encounters with different suitors and situations.

Included: it is part of Hope’s original Ruritanian canon and should be included in a complete series reading.

The Nine Princess Osra Stories

1. The Happiness of Stephen the Smith
2. The Wager of the Marquis de Mérosailles
3. The Madness of Lord Harry Culverhouse
4. The Courtesy of Christian the Highwayman
5. The Sin of the Bishop of Modenstein
6. The Device of Giraldo the Painter
7. The Indifference of the Miller of Hofbau
8. The Love of the Prince of Glottenberg
9. The Victory of the Grand Duke of Mittenheim

These should normally be read in the collection’s printed order. They share characters and setting but are structured as separate episodes rather than chapters of one continuous novel.

Rupert of Hentzau Is the Direct Zenda Sequel

Rupert of Hentzau was published in 1898 and explicitly continues The Prisoner of Zenda. Rudolf Rassendyll, Princess Flavia, Rupert, and other established characters return.

Order matters strongly: do not begin here. The sequel assumes knowledge of Rassendyll’s earlier role in Ruritania and of the emotional situation established at the end of the first novel.

Readers who only want the central Rudolf Rassendyll storyline can use a simple two-book sequence: The Prisoner of Zenda, then Rupert of Hentzau. The Heart of Princess Osra remains canonical but belongs to an earlier generation.

Anthony Hope Novels in Publication Order

Hope was far more prolific than the fame of The Prisoner of Zenda suggests. The following sequence covers his principal novels and book-length fiction in publication order.

1. A Man of Mark (1890)
2. Father Stafford (1891)
3. Mr. Witt’s Widow (1892)
4. A Change of Air (1893)
5. Half a Hero (1893)
6. The God in the Car (1894)
7. The Prisoner of Zenda (1894)
8. The Indiscretion of the Duchess (1895)
9. The Chronicles of Count Antonio (1895, linked historical stories)
10. The Heart of Princess Osra (1896, linked Ruritanian stories)
11. Phroso: A Romance (1897)
12. Rupert of Hentzau (1898)
13. Simon Dale (1898)
14. The King’s Mirror (1899)
15. Quisanté (1900)
16. Tristram of Blent (1901)
17. The Intrusions of Peggy (1902)
18. Double Harness (1904)
19. A Servant of the Public (1905)
20. Sophy of Kravonia (1906)
21. The Great Miss Driver (1908)
22. Second String (1910)
23. Mrs. Maxon Protests (1911)
24. Helena’s Path (1912)
25. A Young Man’s Year (1915)
26. Captain Dieppe (1918)
27. Beaumaroy Home from the Wars (1919)
28. Lucinda (1920)
29. Little Tiger (1925)

Scope note: Hope also published short story collections, dialogue sequences, plays, political works, and memoir. Some titles are difficult to classify neatly as novels because they originated as linked stories or episodic sketches.

The Dolly Dialogues in Reading Order

The Dolly Dialogues began as a series of conversational sketches and was collected in book form in 1894. The pieces revolve around the witty Dolly and the social world surrounding her.

This is not a Ruritanian series and does not involve Rudolf Rassendyll or the Elphbergs.

Separate continuity: read the sketches in the order presented by the collection. Their appeal lies more in recurring social relationships and conversation than in a tightly serialized plot.

Count Antonio and Other Linked Story Books

The Chronicles of Count Antonio is another example of Hope using a recurring central figure across linked episodes. Published in 1895, it follows Count Antonio in an Italian historical setting.

The book belongs to its own continuity. It is not connected to Ruritania despite sharing Hope’s interest in adventure, courts, aristocracy, and political intrigue.

Readers should therefore resist grouping every Hope book with an imaginary or aristocratic setting into the Zenda series.

Is Sophy of Kravonia a Ruritania Book?

No. Sophy of Kravonia is set partly in the fictional country of Kravonia, which resembles the kind of invented European state associated with Ruritanian romance, but it is not set in Ruritania.

Separate continuity: the resemblance is generic rather than narrative. Kravonia has its own characters, monarchy, political struggles, and geography.

This distinction matters because the enormous influence of The Prisoner of Zenda led readers to use “Ruritanian romance” for many stories set in invented European kingdoms, even when those books do not share Hope’s actual Ruritanian continuity.

Hope’s Other Adventure and Historical Fiction

Several books appeal to readers who come to Hope through The Prisoner of Zenda but want different settings and protagonists.

• Phroso: A Romance is an adventure set around a fictional Greek island.
• Simon Dale is a historical romance set in Restoration England.
• The King’s Mirror examines monarchy through a fictional ruler’s perspective.
• Sophy of Kravonia returns to the invented-European-state mode without returning to Ruritania.
• Captain Dieppe uses another continental adventure setting and an independent cast.

These books can be read in any order because they do not continue one another.

Anthony Hope Short Story Collections

Hope’s shorter fiction appeared throughout his career. Important collections include:

1. Sport Royal and Other Stories (1893)
2. The Dolly Dialogues (1894, dialogue sketches)
3. The Chronicles of Count Antonio (1895, linked stories)
4. Comedies of Courtship (1896)
5. The Heart of Princess Osra (1896, linked Ruritanian stories)
6. Tales of Two People (1907)
7. Love’s Logic and Other Stories (1908)
8. Dialogue (1909)

Later reprints may separate individual stories into small editions. Those should not be counted as new novels simply because they are sold independently.

Publication Order Versus Ruritanian Chronology

Anthony Hope is a good example of why “chronological order” and “best reading order” are not always the same thing.

Chronologically, Princess Osra’s eighteenth-century stories come first. Yet those stories were written after The Prisoner of Zenda became a success, and their significance depends partly on readers already recognizing Ruritania and the Elphberg dynasty.

Recommended rule: publication order for first-time readers, chronology for rereads. In both cases, Rupert of Hentzau remains after The Prisoner of Zenda because it directly continues Rudolf Rassendyll’s story.

A Short Anthony Hope Reading Route

Readers who want a representative selection of Hope’s fiction can use this sequence:

1. The Prisoner of Zenda
2. The Heart of Princess Osra
3. Rupert of Hentzau
4. The Dolly Dialogues
5. Phroso: A Romance
6. Simon Dale
7. The King’s Mirror
8. Tristram of Blent
9. Sophy of Kravonia

This is not one continuity. It begins by keeping all three Ruritanian books together, then moves into Hope’s social comedy, historical adventure, political fiction, and another invented-European-state novel.

For Readers Completing Anthony Hope in Publication Order

A complete Hope project should begin with A Man of Mark in 1890 and proceed through his later novels, collections, and memoir. Publication order shows how rapidly his career changed after the success of The Prisoner of Zenda in 1894.

It also prevents the Ruritanian books from distorting the rest of his bibliography. Hope repeatedly wrote about politics, marriage, class, public life, private reputation, monarchy, and romantic choice even when no fictional kingdom was involved.

Anthony Hope Nonfiction and Memoir

Hope also published wartime and political writing, particularly during the First World War.

• The New (German) Testament: Some Texts and a Commentary (1914)
• Militarism, German and British (1915)
• Why Italy Is with the Allies (1917)
• Memories and Notes (1927)

Memories and Notes is Hope’s autobiographical volume and belongs after the fiction for readers who want his retrospective view of his career.

The Influence of Zenda and Why Later Books Can Be Misclassified

The Prisoner of Zenda helped establish what came to be called the Ruritanian romance, stories of intrigue, romance, coups, succession disputes, and adventure in fictional European countries.

That influence can create bibliographic confusion. A novel such as Sophy of Kravonia resembles the genre but is not another Ruritania installment. Likewise, later authors wrote their own invented kingdoms without sharing Hope’s continuity.

Series boundary: Hope’s original Ruritanian material consists of The Prisoner of Zenda, The Heart of Princess Osra, and Rupert of Hentzau.

Anthony Hope’s Final Books and Current Status

Anthony Hope died in 1933. His late novel Little Tiger appeared in 1925, while his autobiographical Memories and Notes followed in 1927.

There are no forthcoming original Anthony Hope novels. Modern publications are reprints, public-domain editions, omnibuses, or newly formatted collections of existing work.

A twenty-first-century edition titled The Complete Ruritanian Romances, for example, is an omnibus of Hope’s existing Ruritania books rather than a newly discovered sequel.

Questions Readers Often Ask About Anthony Hope

What was Anthony Hope’s first novel?

A Man of Mark, published in 1890, was Hope’s first novel. He published it before the success of The Prisoner of Zenda allowed him to leave legal practice and concentrate on writing.

What is the first Ruritania book?

In publication order, the first Ruritania book is The Prisoner of Zenda. In internal chronology, The Heart of Princess Osra comes first because it is set generations earlier.

Should I read The Heart of Princess Osra before The Prisoner of Zenda?

Not for a first read. Although it is the chronological prequel, The Prisoner of Zenda is the better introduction to Ruritania. Save chronological order for a reread.

Is Rupert of Hentzau a direct sequel?

Yes. It directly continues the relationships and political situation of The Prisoner of Zenda and should always be read after it.

How many Ruritania books did Anthony Hope write?

Hope wrote three original books set in Ruritania: The Prisoner of Zenda, The Heart of Princess Osra, and Rupert of Hentzau.

Is Sophy of Kravonia part of the Ruritania series?

No. Kravonia is a separate fictional country with its own characters and political story. The book belongs to the broader tradition of invented-European-state adventure, not to Ruritania continuity.

Is The Dolly Dialogues connected to Zenda?

No. It is a separate series of social and conversational sketches centered on Dolly and her circle.

What was Anthony Hope’s last novel?

Little Tiger, published in 1925, is generally listed as Hope’s final novel. His autobiographical Memories and Notes followed in 1927.

The Most Useful Anthony Hope Reading Order

For most readers, begin with The Prisoner of Zenda, continue with The Heart of Princess Osra, and then read Rupert of Hentzau. This preserves Hope’s publication history while keeping the direct Zenda sequel after the novel it continues.

Chronological readers can move The Heart of Princess Osra to the beginning on a reread, since its stories take place generations before Rudolf Rassendyll’s adventure.

Hope’s remaining novels are mostly standalone. Keep Sophy of Kravonia, Phroso, Simon Dale, The King’s Mirror, and the other independent works outside the Ruritanian sequence even when they share its interest in courts, politics, or romantic adventure.