Book
The Rider
In the neighbouring kingdoms of Karlova and Margoth, royal plans for marriage collide with a bandit known as the Rider and a series of mistaken identities. Princes, princesses and criminals cross paths until political calculation gives way to a more personal contest over loyalty and love.
Karlova and Margoth are invented Balkan-style kingdoms, but their courts, railways and dynastic manoeuvring evoke the political culture of pre-First World War Europe. Burroughs uses the Ruritanian setting for a brisk romance in which royal duty, criminal disguise and mistaken identity repeatedly upset carefully arranged plans.