The Puppet Crown

by Harold MacGrath

The story is reminiscent of Stevenson's "Prince Otto" in a certain airy persiflage and genial cynicism and in the comic opera quality of the little Continental kingdom that is the scene of its remarkable plot; it strongly suggests Anthony Hope's "The Prisoner of Zenda" in the kidnaping of certain important characters and in the portraiture of the youthful hero who is an American. But these resemblances do not detract from its originality; for original it is in plot, in characters, and in style. Something there is of the same power of revealing the loneliness the heartache and the unsatisfied longings of royalty that throbs in Daudet's "Kings in Exile." The whole plot turns on the misery of a King who has sold his birthright for a crown that is only a symbol of his own impotency. He is a puppet in the hands of a confederation of great powers who permit him to rule because he is an idealist and a dreamer, and, they know, will finally allow the kingdom to fall into their hands as a protectorate.

324 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1901

About the author

Harold MacGrath (September 4, 1871 - October 30, 1932) was a bestselling American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter.

Also known occasionally as Harold McGrath, he was born in Syracuse, New York. As a young man, he worked as a reporter and columnist on the Syracuse Herald newspaper until the late 1890s when he published his first novel, a romance titled Arms and the Woman. According to the New York Times, his next book, The Puppet Crown, was the No.7 bestselling book in the United States for all of 1901. From that point on, MacGrath wrote novels for the mass market about love, adventure, mystery, spies, and the like at an average rate of more than one a year. He would have three more of his books that were among the top ten bestselling books of the year. At the same time, he penned a number of short stories for major American magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, Ladies Home Journal, and Red Book magazine. Several of MacGrath's novels were serialized in these magazines and contributing to them was something he would continue to do until his death in 1932.

In 1912, Harold MacGrath became one of the first nationally-known authors to write directly for the movies when he was hired by the American Film Company to do the screenplay for a short film in the Western genre titled The Vengeance That Failed. MacGrath had eighteen of his forty novels and three of his short stories made into films plus he wrote the story for another four motion pictures. And, three of his books were also made into Broadway plays. One of the many films made from MacGrath's writings was the 1913 serial The Adventures of Kathlyn starring Kathlyn Williams. While writing the thirteen episodes he simultaneously wrote the book that was published immediately after the December 29, 1913, premiere of the first episode of the serial so as to be in book stores during the screening of the entire thirteen episodes.

Reviews

[AJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the #7 best seller for 1901. A palace intrigue romance novel. I'm learning that early 20th century best sellers seem to be romance novesl written by male authors. I did not expect that.

This story takes place in a fictional kingdom within the Austrian empire prior to WWI. Interestingly the plot is similar to the events leading up to WW1, my favorite line being "princes are not assassinated any more."

There are two romances in the novel, the first being an American who gets caught up in the cogs of a conspiracy to overthrow a king. He falls in love with the king's daughter knowing that it is destined to be an unrequited love. In the end he professes his love and she hers before he dies in her arms.

The other is a ruthless duchess who will stop at nothing to seize the king's failing kingdom. That includes manipulating the love of an Englishmen that can save the kingdom from bankruptcy. He loves her unconditionally, however she resists any feelings she may have for him. In the end she is humiliated and loses her power grab but gains a lover. Maybe.

I think it interesting that the duchess while the main antagonist and certainly the villain of the story is also somewhat of an antihero. This is still the Victorian era. She is an all powerful, independent woman leading an army to overthrow a king. Considering the times, that's a pretty significant portrayal of a woman. It's over a hundred years later and we are still struggling with electing a female President. One has to wonder how this character was received in 1901 by readers. I'm sure the duchess' depiction of strength and independence added to her villainy to readers as much as her ruthlessness.

It's a hard to read story. Characters have multiple names and titles which are hard to follow. The writing gets cumbersome at times. And while the book kept my interest it was only the last six of thirty odd chapters that were really exciting. And there are a lot of unanswered questions. The biggest of which, what happened to Prince Frederick! He came to save the day at the end then poof! Gone.

[LexIconDevil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Political intrigue forms the backdrop, and individual relationships play out in front - friendships and alliances and romances. I must admit that I had difficulty keeping the characters and their motivations straight. The fact that so many of the characters kept their cards held very close to their chests didn’t help matters any. This may also be due to the fact that I read this book bit by bit over a longer period of time. Had I “focused” on the book more, this would have been less of a problem.

Regardless, I did enjoy the book. I felt the romances were a bit perfunctory, but the story is an intriguing one, and I had no idea how anything would play out until the very last page.

[Susan C Lance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fiction. Puppet crown near Austria. Good description and humor