The Mad King

infobox Book |
name = The Mad King
orig title =
translator =


image_caption = Dust jacket from the first edition of "The Mad King"
author = Edgar Rice Burroughs
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series =
genre = Ruritanian romance
publisher = A.C. McClurg
release_date = 1926
media_type = Print (Hardback)
pages = 296 pp (hardback edition)
isbn = NA
preceded_by =
followed_by = The Eternal Lover

The Mad King""' is a novel by "Tarzan" creator Edgar Rice Burroughs, originally published in two parts as "The Mad King" and "Barney Custer of Beatrice" in "All-Star Weekly", in 1914 and 1915, respectively. These were combined for the book edition, first published in hardcover by A. C. McClurg in 1926.

Plot summary

Set in the mythical European kingdom of Lutha, the protagonist is a young American named Barney Custer, of Beatrice, Nebraska, who is the son of an American farmer and a runaway Luthan princess, Victoria Rubinroth. Unaware of his royal blood, Barney visits Lutha on the eve of the First World War to see for himself his mother's native land. As he arrives in Lutha, the real king, Leopold has just escaped from his ten years' imprisonment at the hands of his scheming uncle, Prince Peter of Blentz.

Barney meets and falls in love with Princess Emma Von Der Tann, Leopold's promised bride and then becomes intimately involved in Luthan affairs, working to help the king and ultimately allowing himself to be proclaimed as king to prevent Prince Peter from seizing the throne. He finally succeeds in foiling Peter's plans to become king himself by rescuing and fighting for the real king. Unfortunately, after his coronation, King Leopold discovers the shared love between Barney and Princess Emma, and Barney is forced to leave Lutha, mimicking the flight of his father years earlier, though his father left with a princess- Barney has only a soldier. Thus ends part one.

In the second part of the novel, the European skies are darkening as World War I has begun. In Lutha, King Leopold has proven himself to be a bad ruler and has not yet persuaded Princess Emma to marry him. In Nebraska, Barney's companion leaves the farm to return to Lutha. Barney himself is attacked by one of Prince Peter's henchmen and he decides to return to Lutha as well. After an adventurous trip across war-torn Europe, which includes being mistaken for a spy by the Austrians and barely escaping a firing squad, Barney finally reaches Lutha, where he once again is forced to play king in order to save Lutha from the advancing Austrians. He makes a diplomatic alliance with Serbia, and defeats the Austrians in person, thereby saving Lutha. The real king Leopold, who has been his antagonist throughout the second part of the novel, is mistaken for Barney and killed by one of Prince Peter's henchmen. Barney then consents to remain as king of Lutha, married at last to Princess Emma.

Comparisons

The story is Burrough's version of the then popular Ruritanian romance exemplified by Anthony Hope's "The Prisoner of Zenda" and its sequel "Rupert of Hentzau". Set in Europe immediately before and during World War I, Burroughs' story differs from the Hope books in a number of details, though sharing much of their basic plot.

The main difference between this story and Hope's two books is the portrayal of the rightful king as an actual antagonist to Barney, especially in the second part of the book, where he is as much a villain as Prince Peter and the Austrians. The other significant difference is the fact that the protagonist lives happily ever after with his princess, unlike the far more tragic ending of the "Zenda" series. Also, in "The Mad King", Prince Peter is a clear villain, unlike the more nuanced Duke Michael, who apparently is popular with the commoners. In Burroughs's story the role of the common people's hero is taken by a secondary character, Prince Von Der Tann; Prince Peter is universally reviled.

Historical background

Like Hope's Ruritania, Lutha is portrayed as a small European kingdom, though it lacks the social strife evident in Hope's novels. However, its location is quite easy to find, as Burroughs describes it as being between Austria and Serbia. Also unlike Hope's Ruritanian novels, "The Mad King" is set in a real world situation. Lutha is surrounded by Austria and Serbia and her circumstances mirror those of many Balkan nations forced to choose sides in the opening phase of the First World War. Burroughs also clearly chooses sides in the conflict, portraying Austria (and by extension her German allies) as the bad guys. Serbia is represented as being a good power.

equels

"The Eternal Lover", a collection of two short stories written in 1925, has as its protagonist Barney's sister Virginia Custer. These stories take place between Barney's two Luthan adventures, when he and his sister are the guests of Tarzan on the latter's African estate. When cave man Nu is released from suspended animation, Virginia discovers that she is the reincarnation of his great love Nat-ul. The story covers her adventures with Nu.

Copyright

The copyright for this story has expired in the United States and, thus, now resides in the public domain there. The text is available via Project Gutenberg.

External links

* [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/364 Text of the novel at Project Gutenberg]
* [http://www.erblist.com/erblist/madkingsum.html Edgar Rice Burroughs Summary Project Page for "The Mad King"]