Read in 2014 - 30: The Lost Prince

„The Lost Prince“ was a book I very much enjoyed, and wonder why it isn’t as popular as Frances Hodgson Burnett’s more famous works, such as “The Secret Garden” and “Little Lord Fauntleroy”. While I am not overly fond of the “Little Lord”, I very much like the “Secret Garden” and would certainly make sure to have my own children read it (or read it to them), if I had any. “The Lost Prince” was first published in 1915, and if you have a chance to come across the version with illustrations by Maurice L. Bower, go for it. My free kindle version didn’t come illustrated, but I found the drawings on the internet while researching for this review.

The reader meets Marco Loristan when the boy is 12 years old and has just moved to shabby quarters in London with his father, Stefan Loristan, and their faithful soldier-servant Lazarus. Marco is young, but he has seen more of the world than many will ever do in a lifetime; the small family has always been on the move, and Marco is familiar not only with the big cities all across Europe, but speaks their languages like a native, and knows their museums and galleries like their most studied and best educated residents. For the Loristans, only one place is home, and that is a place they can not live at: Samavia (a fictitious country), a monarchy struggling between civil war, general unrest and bloody revolutions, poverty-stricken and politically unstable since that day 500 years ago when the last legitimate heir to the throne mysteriously disappeared. This “Lost Prince” of Samavia has become a legend over time; a legend many believe to be true, and many a passion-filled Samavian heart longs for the return of the Lost Prince and the restoration of their home country to its former peaceful glory.

Marco, his father and Lazarus are very close and usually do not speak of Samavia outside their four walls. But when Marco meets “The Rat”, a crippled street urchin who is fascinated with all things military and has a brilliant mind in his weak body, the two soon become friends, and together invent “The Game”. They make up schemes to form a Secret Party all across Europe, a party that works behind the scenes to find the Lost Prince and re-establish peace and prosperity for Samavia.

Up until that point, I had found the book a little tedious at times, because the way the Loristans are described is so unreal – they are just too good to be true. But once The Rat enters the picture, things become more realistic, and when The Rat’s circumstances change and he ends up living with them, the story quickly picks up pace and really found me in its grip.

Needless to say, The Game turns into reality, and the two boys embark on an adventurous trip throughout Europe, from big cities like Paris, Munich and Vienna to tiny mountain hamlets. Eventually, they even travel to Samavia, but throughout their adventures, the geographical distances are parallel to personal development. It is a “coming of age” novel in a way, although only The Rat really develops in character; Marco has been perfect from the start. The descriptions of places and people are good and not too lengthy, and while there aren’t many surprises, there is still enough suspense to have kept me going – while at the same time I did not want the story to come to its inevitable (and foreseeable) end.

During my research for this review, I learned a new term: Ruritanian. This book is, according to wikipedia, an example of Ruritanian literature. Ruritania is a fictitious country, created by Anthony Hope as the setting of his novel "The Prisoner of Zenda" (which I have never read). It gave its name to romantic novels set in similar countries, all fictitious, all set in central/southeastern Europe, all showing similar elements of adventures, romance, intrigue, the re-instating of peace in an unstable country, with honour, loyalty and love featuring prominently. Typically for me, I am sure I'll remember this curious little fact - an example of the kind of trivia I know, trivia that comes in useful only if it happens to be the answer to a pub quiz question. Instead, I never remember the really useful facts and figures other people seem to be able to rattle off whenever needed.
 
For more reviews of Frances Hodgson Burnett's books and some information about her, simply type "Burnett" into the search box at the top left corner of my blog, and you'll find five older posts.