Graustark: The Story of a Love Behind a Throne (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780809533701)

A dashing American journeys to the fictional kingdom of Graustark and finds himself entangled in romance and political intrigue. Amid royal duties and treacherous schemes, love blossoms against all odds. Can honor and love prevail in a world of peril and ambition?

Graustark is a captivating tale of romance and adventure set in a fictional European kingdom. George Barr McCutcheon weaves a story of an American traveler swept into a world of royal intrigue, danger, and forbidden love. With its timeless themes of duty, sacrifice, and passion, this classic novel continues to enchant readers who love epic romances and thrilling escapades.

The fiction of George Barr McCutcheon (1866-1928) proved so popular in his day that he, along with Anthony Hope, the author of "The Prisoner of Zenda," invented a whole new genre, now called the "Graustarkian novel," a charming product of a more innocent time when the Balkans could be the scene of adventurous romances set in imaginary countries.

McCutcheon's Graustark no doubt borders Hope's Ruritania and Avram Davidson's more recent Scythia-Pannonia-Transbalkania. It was a place where an American adventurer could find himself or herself adrift, but rapidly caught up in intrigues, captures and escapes, and the perilously-hinged destiny of (at the very least) a royal throne or two.

Graustark is one entry in this best-selling series, which also includes The Prince of Graustark, Truxton King, and Beverly of Graustark.