The Princess Aline

In Short

The Princess Aline is a charming 1895 romantic novella by Richard Harding Davis that sends Morton Carlton, a wealthy and successful New York portrait artist, on a grand tour across Europe. Smitten by a magazine photograph of the Princess Aline of Hohenwald, Carlton impulsively sets off to find her. Accompanied by his valet and sharing his travel itinerary with two American women, Carlton spends weeks in high-society pursuit. Crisp, witty, and light on its feet, the story endures as an effortless satire of romantic idealization and a warm celebration of unexpected companionship.

The Story

Morton "Morney" Carlton has reached a rare position for a twenty-six-year-old: international fame as a portrait painter, financial independence, and total freedom to pursue whatever catches his fancy. While preparing to sail for Europe, his eye falls upon a photograph in the St. James Budget depicting the Princess Aline of Hohenwald. Captivated by her natural, amused smile and high-bred air, Carlton decides on the spot that he is in love. Because she is a royal princess whom he can never marry, he views the passion as a perfect, safe romantic game—a chance to revel in unrequited devotion without any social obligations or interference from well-meaning relatives.

On the transatlantic voyage aboard the New York, Carlton is introduced to Mrs. Downs and her niece, Miss Edith Morris. When he confides his absurd quest to Miss Morris, she treats it as a "distinctly sporting proposition." As they cross from London to Paris, and eventually take the Orient Express through the Balkans to Constantinople and Athens, Carlton and Miss Morris become inseparable travel companions. Together with Carlton’s overly zealous valet, Nolan, who tracks the royal party’s movements, they follow the Hohenwalds' trail. Carlton treats Miss Morris as a confidante, explaining his theories on art and beauty, while confessing a deep personal worry: that he lacks the capacity for real, lasting love.

Despite constantly being mere hours or yards away from the Princess Aline, Carlton is repeatedly thwarted by comical twists of fate—a missed train, a sudden change in royal itineraries, or a sprained ankle on the Acropolis. Meanwhile, his bond with Miss Morris deepens as they explore historic ruins, debate the nature of love, and share the pleasures of the journey.

When Carlton discovers that Miss Morris is actually unattached—having mistakenly believed she was engaged to a man named Abbey, who was in fact betrothed to her sister—the romantic illusion of the Princess vanishes. Realizing that the real companionship he craved was right in front of him, Carlton abandons his obsession with the unattainable royal. Beneath the moonlight in Athens, he bids Miss Morris a affectionate goodnight, kissing her cheek. Watching secretly from a hotel balcony above, the Princess Aline tears up Carlton’s portrait and her own sketched likeness, dropping the scraps into the street before declaring that she is tired of travelling and wants only to return home.

How It Unfolds

A photograph sparks a chase Carlton spots a picture of the Princess Aline of Hohenwald in an English newspaper and decides to alter his European travel plans to seek her out. He views his sudden infatuation as a harmless romantic pursuit, free from any expectation of marriage.

A meeting on the Atlantic Onboard the steamship, Carlton meets Mrs. Downs and Miss Edith Morris, quickly befriending them over shared observations of their fellow passengers. He confides his royal quest to Miss Morris, who encourages his whimsical adventure.

Tracking the royal trail With the help of his enthusiastic valet Nolan, Carlton follows the Hohenwald family through London and Paris. Miss Morris and Mrs. Downs join him on the Orient Express, keeping pace as the pursuit moves toward Constantinople.

Near misses in Athens In Greece, Carlton comes tantalizingly close to meeting the Princess at the Theatre of Herodes and the Parthenon. However, timing and a sudden injury keep them apart, preventing the long-anticipated introduction.

A sudden revelation Carlton realizes he has misread Miss Morris's marital status, learning she is entirely unengaged. The discovery forces him to confront his true feelings and recognize that his affection for her far outweighs his obsession with an ideal.

The illusion dissolved Carlton kisses Miss Morris goodnight under the Athenian moon, while the Princess Aline watches from her balcony. The Princess destroys the sketches of their quiet connection and decides it is time to end her travels.

The People

• Morton "Morney" Carlton: A world-renowned American portrait artist at twenty-six who is used to getting what he wants. He craves artistic beauty and romantic idealism, but secretly fears he lacks the capacity for genuine, enduring love. By the story's end, his romanticized wild-goose chase gives way to a grounded, sincere affection.
• Miss Edith Morris: An independent, witty, and perceptive young American travelling through Europe with her aunt. She acts as Carlton’s confidante and sounding board, gently teasing his romantic notions while quietly capturing his heart.
• Princess Aline of Hohenwald: A serene, intelligent royal whose casual smile in a newspaper photograph launches Carlton’s pursuit. Though she remains a distant object of admiration for most of the story, she is aware of the young painter and experiences her own quiet moment of reflection at the close.
• Nolan: Carlton’s devoted and overly energetic valet. His fierce loyalty and knack for gathering intelligence drive much of the plot's momentum, occasionally pushing his master's aristocratic pursuit to the brink of comedic indiscretion.

In Its Own Voice

"The beauty of being in love with a Princess, Miss Morris," he said, "lies in the fact that you can't marry her; that you can love her deeply and forever, and nobody will ever come to you and ask your intentions..."

Carlton explains his philosophy of safe, unrequited romance to Miss Morris while standing on the deck of the ocean liner.

"Give people a love for beauty and a respect for health, Miss Morris, and the result is going to be, what they once had here, the best art and the greatest writers and satirists and poets."

En route to Athens, Carlton passionately describes how classical surroundings and an appreciation for form can transform a person's life and work.

"I think I am a little tired of travelling so much. I want to go back to Grasse."

Standing on her hotel balcony after watching Carlton and Miss Morris below, the Princess Aline quietly ends her journey.

What It's Really About

At its core, The Princess Aline examines the conflict between romantic fantasy and reality. Carlton constructs an elaborate, self-indulgent narrative around a woman he has never spoken to, using her royal status as a buffer against real vulnerability and commitment. He treats love as an aesthetic exercise—much like painting a portrait—where he can control the distance and tone. Through his conversations with Miss Morris, the novella contrasts this sterile, idealized devotion with the genuine intimacy born of shared experiences, daily conversation, and mutual humor. Davis suggests that true affection cannot be engineered from a distance; it requires presence, vulnerability, and the willingness to let go of impossible ideals.

Why Read It Today

The Princess Aline is a light, sophisticated turn-of-the-century romantic comedy that moves with the swift grace of a modern travelogue. Readers who enjoy Gilded Age aesthetics, European grand tours, and subtle comedy will find much to admire in Davis’s crisp prose and sharp dialogue. The novella captures a late-nineteenth-century world of transatlantic steamships, the Orient Express, and classic European hotels with vivid immediacy.

The book’s potential hurdles are minor and tied directly to its era: the protagonist’s casual wealth and carefree privilege can occasionally border on self-absorption, and the plot relies on the cozy coincidences typical of 1890s light fiction. However, Carlton’s self-awareness saves him from becoming insufferable, and Miss Morris provides a grounded, sharp-witted counterweight to his melodramatic inclinations.

What lingers after reading is the novella's warm, ironic humor and its surprisingly modern takeaway: that the grand romantic gestures we invent to satisfy our imaginations are rarely a match for the quiet, real connections right in front of us.