Graustark

Summary

A serendipitous locomotive encounter between the affluent Grenfall Lorry and a mysterious, ethereal beauty catalyzes a transcontinental odyssey that transcends the rugged vistas of the American West for the baroque entanglements of a fictional European principality. What commences as a spirited pursuit through the craggy Colorado peaks—necessitated by a missed connection in a desolate mining outpost—eventually metamorphoses into a sophisticated diplomatic thriller. Upon arriving in the titular Graustark, Lorry and his compatriot Harry discover the object of Lorry's affection is none other than Princess Yetiva, a sovereign ensnared by the financial specter of war-induced debt and a coerced betrothal to the predatory Prince Lorenz. The narrative’s romantic levity curdles into a somber noir when Lorenz is discovered slain, leaving Lorry to navigate a labyrinth of false accusations and regicide. It is a cinematic tapestry that weaves together the reckless optimism of American individualism with the decaying grandeur of Old World monarchies.

Synopsis

While traveling by train from Denver to Washington, DC, wealthy young Grenfall Lorry meets a beautiful young girl. When they are accidentally left behind in a mining town, they race through the mountains and finally catch it. They travel to Washington and have a great time, but they soon part. They meet again later in the small European country of Graustark, where Grenfall and his friend Harry rescue her from kidnappers, and they then discover that she is actually the country's Princess Yetiva. She is engaged to Prinze Lorenz of Asphan in order to pay off Graustark's enormous debt from the war, but Lorenz is murdered and Grenfall is framed for the crime. Complications ensue.