The basic story is very well-known by this point. You have a Prince and a Pauper who trade places and learn the ups and downs of both realities. I knew this well enough, but there is so much to the story then just that. This is a story filled with adventure and even some swashbuckling action. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time.
Once the two characters get split up, the author takes his time with each of their adventures. It takes a lot of chapters before he switches perspectives, and this is really for the best. It gives you time to feel like you understand their respective situations. Although jarring at first, it is actually genius to do this and actually less jarring than the alternative. The Prince gets plenty of time to see how difficult life is in his kingdom, and the Pauper gets to see what it's like to be treated like royalty.
One of the crazy things about this story is how so many people just can't imagine the truth of the situation. I say this because both characters are being open and honest about who they are throughout the story. They are not trying to pretend at all. Eventually, they kind of have no choice but to pretend because nobody would believe them anyways.
My favorite character is Miles Hendon, who takes care of the Prince for a lot of the story. He is the absolute image of a paragon hero. This cannot be overstated. He was so flawless in his goodness, and I really wanted things to work out for him. He deserved so many good things, but unfortunately a lot of bad things happen to him anyhow. I enjoyed him so much that I wanted there to be a continuing series of books about him. That did not happen, though.
The story does not have an overarching villain, but there are a few villainous characters who you will hate. One of them is a psychopath, but he still had extremely selfish motives despite being delusional. All the villains in the book are encountered by the Prince, although I should say that the King was not really a good person either, but he doesn't really molest the Pauper while he is in the castle. He is more of an terrible person to other people than the one he thinks is his son.
Honestly, I was surprised at there not being a main villain. My only exposure to this story was the Disney short with Mickey Mouse. They had Pete trying to usurp the throne by crowning the Pauper Mickey. That was actually a cool plot, but the original story just doesn't do that.
"The Prince and the Pauper" is a very exciting story, but it can be hard to read at times. The narrative is fine to read, but the dialog is basically Shakespeare. Where it is difficult at first, it does get easier to understand fairly quickly. I didn't have a problem with it. Honestly, it made everything anybody said sound beautiful no matter how mundane the remark. That said, however, children won't be able to read this for these same reasons.
I really, really enjoyed this story. My favorite book of all time was "The Never-Ending Story," but this book comes really close to beating it. It may actually have. I spent a lot of time yelling at the pages when something amazing or exciting happened. A lot of my pleasure and grief happened in the Miles Hendon scenes. He is just such a wonderful man. If I haven't made it clear yet, I do so extremely recommend this book. It is a classic that should be required reading for everyone, and I don't normally say that.
This blog was written on May 28, 2025.
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The author did not rely on the clever idea for the story to work. He made the characters and their drama the focus of it all. The novel is a classic accordingly.
ReplyDeleteReally one of the best stories I ever read.
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