The writing is a little disjointed in subject, mood, and tone. An excellent story though, and an interesting read for children.

When Rudolf goes on vacation to Ruritania, he discovers that he is the King's doppelganger. When the King is kidnapped by his evil half-brother, Duke Michael, Rudolf is persuaded to masquerade on the throne until the real King can be rescued. While Rudolf's quick wit and steady nerves will help him to act as King, he is unprepared for the vagaries of the heart when he meets Princess Flavia.

I enjoyed both the books in this duology so much! The adventure, the espionage, the dashing heroes, the battles for honor and love, and of course, the beautiful Princess Flavia who inspires others to daring deeds of courage and loyalty.

I liked that the writing style is full of action, not too wordy or flowery, and with a sense of urgency and mystery. The plot really twists around with impossible circumstances and keeps things moving along in every wild direction.

I completely fell in love with the characters! I love how the heroes are all virtuous and full of chivalry, and the villains are black-hearted and sneering. Despite being black and white personalities, they are still complex and compelling characters.

This would be a good duology for those who are not used to reading classics very much. Each book is fairly short, easy to follow, and keeps your attention.

During the English Civil War, the four Beverley children are orphaned when their wealthy father is killed fighting for the restoration of King Charles. Their grand home is burnt down and they are supposed dead, so they find shelter with a kindly old forester. They each learn to hunt, harvest, and care for their little cottage, living in seclusion deep in the forest. But the oldest boy, Edward, is restless and he dreams of going to war as his father did.

The siblings encounter many dangers and perplexities, highwaymen and robbers, spies from the Parliamentary government, and a new Intendant governor over the forest who is determined to capture anyone poaching the deer in the forest. But the siblings are resourceful and brave, so they flourish in their humble cottage, acquiring farm animals and planting small fields, dreaming of the time when their inheritance will be restored to them, if ever the true King returns to England.

I loved this story of the Beverley siblings! The plot is interesting and full of action and intrigue. I really liked even the simple aspects of the story about the children learning to do household tasks like cooking, the boys learning how to hunt, and the girls keeping a dairy.

I like the formal writing style and the vivid language of this book. I wish that the girls in the story had more time in the narrative. They are sort of background characters, and don't take part in most of the action, but I liked them! I just wish there was more in-depth writing about them.


I was really touched by the siblings deep emotional attachment to each other and to the old man who takes them in. Time and again, they are shown to have noble feelings and generosity to their friends. I loved how the siblings all work and sacrifice a great deal to care for and protect each other. Their first thought in any difficult situation is, "How can I take care of my siblings?"

Usually, I get bored with historical fiction, but I loved the historical aspects of this story. The characters made the history more intimate and immediate to the reader.

The writing is rather dry and the dialogue is clipped. The plot is full of action and well-told. There are long scientific paragraphs with a lot of numbers that I skipped over. Not his best work, but worth the read.

hated it.

Lovely story, but a funny writing style.