Graustark - Бесплатная аудиокнига

Graustark is a romantic adventure novel by the American writer George Barr McCutcheon, published in 1901. Its full title is Graustark: The Story of a Love Behind a Throne. The book was a major bestseller, and it helped create a popular genre of stories set in small imaginary European kingdoms, sometimes called Ruritanian romance after Anthony Hope's The Prisoner of Zenda.

The hero, Grenfall Lorry, is a wealthy young American who meets a beautiful and mysterious young woman on a train journey across the United States. Charmed and curious, he learns little about her before she sails for Europe. Determined to see her again, he follows her trail to Graustark, a tiny principality in the mountains of eastern Europe. There he discovers that her position is far grander than he imagined, and that the country is caught in a web of debt, political rivalry and the ambitions of a powerful neighbouring state. Lorry and his friend Harry Anguish soon find themselves involved in court intrigue, danger and a love affair that seems impossible across the barriers of rank and nationality.

The novel is light, brisk and openly romantic, with duels, plots and a strong vein of American optimism. It will appeal to listeners who enjoy vintage romance, swashbuckling adventure and stories of royalty and imaginary kingdoms.