George Barr McCutcheon was one of the great turn of the century authors and the inventor of the Graustarkian novel. This is a story set in the hills of eastern Europe, generally before World War I, and is loosely propelled by a romance between a member of the colorful local royalty and an outsider, frequently an American. The Prisoner of Zenda is a classic of this genre.

The Graustark stories are all in this family, and are successful in various degrees.

• Truxton King is probably the best of the lot. It tells of an American visiting Graustark in hopes of finding romance and adventure. He falls in with the local weapon shop keeper's daughter, an antigovernment plot and the man from Cook's Travel , who comes through in a pinch.
• A Prince of Graustark is relatively good