sir anthony hope hawkins be a successful london barrister and who get his measure of permanent fame a the author of several novel . some be quite popular in their day and like the dolly dialogue and the man in the car ( which base it central figure on cecil rhodes ) . but it be his two ruritanian romance and the prisoner of zenda and rupert of hentzau that be the main novel he be recall for and especially the prisoner of zenda . set in a middle european kingdom and it be ( for it day in the last decade of the 19th century ) an updating of the swashbuckling novel of alexandre duma . duma have some story set in modern europe ( the count of monte cristo be set in the period of 1815 1830 and and be write in 1844 1845 ) and but most be in early period and such a the 16th and 17th and and 18th century . hope hawkins ( who write under the name anthony hope ) figure that there be sufficient intrigue and deviltry in modern europe to transplant the plot style to the 1870s 1890s . and there be considerable intrigue and especially in eastern europe . in the 1880s prince alexander of battenberg seem set to become first prince or king of bulgaria . he have win admiration in europe for his stunning victory over the army of the kingdom of serbia in a war of 1885 ( the war that be the background to shaw arm and the man ) and and be poise to get his crown and when the russian empire balk . they think alexander be too pro german and and too close ( due to family relationship ) to great britain . so alexander be topple and and force to leave bulgaria under very humiliating circumstance . eventually prince ferdinand of saxe coburg get the bulgarian throne . the prisoner of zenda be not base on the story of alexander of battenberg and but it show the type of conspiracy atmosphere that pervade the area . basically the plot be an old one of substitution concern political figure . duma have use one in the vicomte de bragalone and a huge multi volume novel that include the man in the iron mask . one of the theory about the iron mask ( the one that dumas use ) be that it be the twin brother of king louis xiv . in that novel dartagnan have to thwart a plot to replace the sun king with his brother a plot that almost succeed . hope change this slightly . here the king be threaten by his ambitious half brother and and the king distant twin cousin replace him to save the throne . the 1937 film version of the novel be usually consider the best of several ( include the 1951 version with stewart granger and deborah kerr and and a comic version with peter seller and lionel jeffries in 1978 ) . david selznick be the producer and this be part of his series of movie base on famous novel that include a tale of two city ( also with colman ) and david copperfield ( with w. c. field ) and and finally go with the wind . his casting be top notch and with colman support by madeleine carroll and douglas fairbanks jr. and raymond massey and mary astor and c. aubrey smith and and david niven . it be an exciting and well make film and and definitely worth watch . selznick hop to do the sequel rupert of hentzau and but that book be a comparative downer . several of the main character from the first novel be kill and and one of them show a less likable side to his personality than in the first story . he toy with a total rewrite of the story and to try to make fairbanks a hero instead of a villain . the project never reach fruition . probably just as well . it be rare for a successful film production to be replicate in a sequel .