The Heart of Princess Osra is part of Anthony Hope's trilogy of books which spawned the genre of Ruritanian romance. This collection of linked short stories is a prequel: it was written immediately after the success of The Prisoner of Zenda (1894) and was published in 1896, but is set in the 1730s, well over a century before the events of the first novel and its sequel, Rupert of Hentzau (1898). The stories are set in the fictional country of Ruritania, a Germanic kingdom, and deal with the love life of Princess Osra of the House of Elphberg. Osra is the younger sister of Rudolf III, the shared ancestor of Rudolf Rassendyll, the English gentleman who acts as political decoy in The Prisoner of Zenda, and Rudolph V, the absolute monarch of Ruritania.
Literary scholar Shoshana Milgram Knapp has observed that Hope's stories in the volume are both analytic of and acclamatory toward the inspiration of romantic love:
"Osra’s physical beauty is a metaphor for spiritual beauty. Her name, the feminine form of "Osric," is not an invention, but it is sufficiently unusual to suggest that the character is herself extraordinary, separated from life’s routine. Who will best love Osra? He who best knows her, and matches her. In Ruritania, love is the appreciation of the beloved’s uniqueness, accompanied by the commitment to rise to one’s best. And because Osra is not merely a prize to be valued, but a human being capable of valuing, she herself can learn what her suitors learn: that romantic love inspires extraordinary action.
"The nine individual stories follow a pattern. A man meets Princess Osra, and immediately develops a consuming romantic passion for this extraordinary woman. In loyalty to his value, he performs an extraordinary act of courage, ingenuity, or passion. He does not act in order to win the princess’s affection, or to prove to her his worth. He performs his act, in most cases, without expecting Osra to recognize his deed, much less acknowledge or reward it. Sooner or later, Osra does in fact recognize and acknowledge the act; she does not, however, requite the love that inspired it."[1]
heart, princess, osra, part, anthony, hope, trilogy, books, which, spawned, genre, ruritanian, romance, this, collection, linked, short, stories, prequel, written, immediately, after, success, prisoner, zenda, 1894, published, 1896, 1730s, well, over, century,. The Heart of Princess Osra is part of Anthony Hope s trilogy of books which spawned the genre of Ruritanian romance This collection of linked short stories is a prequel it was written immediately after the success of The Prisoner of Zenda 1894 and was published in 1896 but is set in the 1730s well over a century before the events of the first novel and its sequel Rupert of Hentzau 1898 The stories are set in the fictional country of Ruritania a Germanic kingdom and deal with the love life of Princess Osra of the House of Elphberg Osra is the younger sister of Rudolf III the shared ancestor of Rudolf Rassendyll the English gentleman who acts as political decoy in The Prisoner of Zenda and Rudolph V the absolute monarch of Ruritania The Heart of Princess OsraFirst edition coverAuthorAnthony HopeCountryUnited KingdomLanguageEnglishGenreHistorical novelPublisherFrederick A StokesPublication date1896Media typePrint Hardback amp Paperback Pages301 ppFollowed byThe Prisoner of Zenda Literary scholar Shoshana Milgram Knapp has observed that Hope s stories in the volume are both analytic of and acclamatory toward the inspiration of romantic love Osra s physical beauty is a metaphor for spiritual beauty Her name the feminine form of Osric is not an invention but it is sufficiently unusual to suggest that the character is herself extraordinary separated from life s routine Who will best love Osra He who best knows her and matches her In Ruritania love is the appreciation of the beloved s uniqueness accompanied by the commitment to rise to one s best And because Osra is not merely a prize to be valued but a human being capable of valuing she herself can learn what her suitors learn that romantic love inspires extraordinary action The nine individual stories follow a pattern A man meets Princess Osra and immediately develops a consuming romantic passion for this extraordinary woman In loyalty to his value he performs an extraordinary act of courage ingenuity or passion He does not act in order to win the princess s affection or to prove to her his worth He performs his act in most cases without expecting Osra to recognize his deed much less acknowledge or reward it Sooner or later Osra does in fact recognize and acknowledge the act she does not however requite the love that inspired it 1 Although The Prisoner of Zenda has been adapted many times for stage and screen The Heart of Princess Osra has not See also editPrincess Ozma a character in all the Land of Oz books except the firstReferences edit Knapp Shoshana Milgram Romantic Fiction Rescued in The Intellectual Activist March 2001External links editFull text for free at Project Gutenberg Google Books complete text Extensive fansite with illustrations The Heart of Princess Osra at Open Library nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Heart of Princess Osra amp oldid 1144641345, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
