Here is a tile set for NELS ANDERSON'S MAHJONG game in praise
of one of the fine old time romantic novels.  THE PRISONER OF ZENDA (1894)
and its sequel RUPERT OF HENTZAU (1898) has been the source of some five
films from 1914 to 1979 featuring Ramon Navarro, Ronald Colman, Douglas
Fairbanks, Jr., Madeline Carroll, Deborah Kerr, Stewart Grainger, James
Mason, Lewis Stone, and Peter Sellers.  It was translated to the stage
early in its life.  Of all the films, the Colman film is the truest to the
novel - many of them drawing on the sequel also for their film script.  I
have done the same.  For those with some knowledge of the plots , let
me identify a few of the tiles.  Fritz is Fritz von Tarlenheim, Elphberg
is the family name of the ruling family of Ruritania, Rudolf Ras. is
Rudolf Rassendyll our hero, Boris is Boris the Hound who has a small part
in the story, and B M is Black Michael (boo!).  Anthony Hope, the author,
achieved some small fame lasting even today.

         For those who would like to read the novels and can not find
them in their library, you might contact DOVER PUBLICATIONS in New
York City - they published both novels in one soft cover volume at one
time - this publication included some of the original Charles Dana
Gibson illustrations.  He's the person whose illustrations coined the
phrase "the Gibson Girl".  Let's hear it for Romance and Derring-Do!!
                 G.D.V. Berea, Ohio 1991