Ruritania is a fictional country

Fictional country

A fictional country is a country that is made up for fictional stories, and does not exist in real life, or one that people believe in without proof....

 in central Europe

Central Europe

Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...

 which forms the setting for three books by Anthony Hope

Anthony Hope

Sir Anthony Hope Hawkins, better known as Anthony Hope , was an English novelist and playwright. Although he was a prolific writer, especially of adventure novels, he is remembered best for only two books: The Prisoner of Zenda and its sequel Rupert of Hentzau...

: The Prisoner of Zenda

The Prisoner of Zenda

The Prisoner of Zenda is an adventure novel by Anthony Hope, published in 1894. The king of the fictional country of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus unable to attend his own coronation. Political forces are such that in order for the king to retain his crown his...

(1894), The Heart of Princess Osra

The Heart of Princess Osra

The Heart of Princess Osra is part of Anthony Hope's trilogy of novels set in the fictional country of Ruritania and which spawned the genre of Ruritanian romance...

(1896), and Rupert of Hentzau

Rupert of Hentzau

Rupert of Hentzau is a sequel by Anthony Hope to The Prisoner of Zenda, written in 1895, but not published until 1898.-Plot summary:...

(1898). Although the first and third are set in the recent past - usually reckoned to be the 1870s - the second is set in the 1730s, although it refers to subsequent events that happened between that time and the time of writing.

The kingdom is also the setting for sequels and variations by other writers.