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Book reviews - The Scarlet Pimpernel

 

 

The Scarlet Pimpernel
US publication: 1905
Author: Orczy, Baroness
Detective:
Genre: Novel

Plot summary and comments:

The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Baroness Orczy, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics:
New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriateAll editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works.
 
In the year 1792, Sir Percy and Lady Marguerite Blakeney are the darlings of British society—he is known as one of the wealthiest men in England and a dimwit;she is French, a stunning former actress, and “the cleverest woman in Europe”—and they find themselves at the center of a deadly political intrigue. The Reign of Terror controls France, and every day aristocrats in Paris fall victim to Madame la Guillotine. Only one man can rescue them—the Scarlet Pimpernel—a master of disguises who leaves a calling card bearing only a signature red flower. As the fascinating connection between the Blakeneys and this mysterious hero is revealed, they are forced to choose between love and loyalty in order to avoid the French agent Chauvelin, who relentlessly hunts the Scarlet Pimpernel.

First published in 1905, The Scarlet Pimpernel is the best-known novel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, a prolific author of popular fiction and plays. The novel pioneered the tale of the masked avenger and paved the way for such future enigmatic swashbucklers as Zorro, Superman, and the Lone Ranger. Repeatedly adapted for stage and screen—most recently as a successful Broadway musical—The Scarlet Pimpernel is a relevant and enormously entertaining tale of survival and pluck during times of widespread fear, hypocrisy, and corruption.

Includes 8 pieces of original art.

Sarah Juliette Sasson is a lecturer in the Department of French and Romance Philology at Columbia University and is the managing editor of the Romanic Review, a journal devoted to romance literatures. She holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Columbia. She specializes in nineteenth-century literature and particularly in the novel. She has published essays on Honoré de Balzac, Heinrich Heine, and on social mobility in nineteenth-century literature. Currently, she is working on a book on Balzac.

::READERS REVIEWS::

::AMAZON REVIEWS::

Good Story
I saw the TV movie, Scarlet Pimpernel, many years ago on PBS, but missed the last episode. Bummer... Well now I know how it ended. I recommend this for readers of all ages.

A delightful adventure
How much readers enjoyed this 1905 adventure can be judged by the fact that Orzy wrote thirteen more books about the Scarlet Pimpernel from 1906-1936 and by the more than several films and TV shows made of her story. The well-known tale is about Paris during the French Revolution. The Scarlet Pimpernel hides his true English identity and outwits the ruthless tyrants of the French Revolution, men and women who are determined to bring the citizens of France freedom and a better life, even if it requires them to kill many citizens to obtain it. The book is filled with drama and frequently humorous dialogue, including:
We seek him here, we seek him there,
Those Frenchies seek him everywhere.
Is he in heaven? Is he in hell?
That demmed elusive Pimpernel?

An 18th century superhero
It is easy to see why Baroness Orczy's tale has become such a classic. It combines adventure and romance in the beautiful writing of the very best classics. Written just over 100 years ago, The Scarlet Pimpernel is charming but still eminently readable to a 21st century audience.

The story focuses on Sir Percy Blakeney and his French wife Marguerite. Both are fabulously beautiful, fabulously fashionable, fabulously rich, the toast of London society. I must confess that I had the slightest crush on Sir Percy -- he is very tall, broad, muscular, rich, handsome, gallant and a close friend of the Prince of Wales. *sigh* If he is foppish, inane and somewhat droll, well that can all be easily overlooked because of all the above qualities. He is married to Marguerite, equally beautiful and widely regarded as the cleverest woman in Europe. Alas, their marriage of just one year, although begun in great passion and love, has already fallen on hard times; a misunderstanding has pushed them apart and they are little more than polite strangers.

The Scarlet Pimpernel is the mysterious, brave adventurer who has managed to rescue numerous French aristocrats from under the nose of the revolutionary forces and bring them safely to English shores. He is the hero of England, the talk of every party as everyone speculates on his true identity, and the bane of the French who would like nothing more than to capture and send him to the guillotine.

When Marguerite learns that her beloved brother has fallen into displeasure with the French revolutionaries and is destined for the guillotine, she is hopeful that The Scarlet Pimpernel will somehow rescue him. But when events compel her to return to France, she plunges both her brother and her husband into peril.

Before listening to this audio book I had read a synopsis of the book, and so I already knew the identity of The Scarlet Pimpernel. I wish I hadn't -- it would have been so much more enjoyable to begin the story knowing nothing. How long would it have taken me to figure it out?

Michael Page's narration is excellent -- Brilliance Audio does a wonderful job with their classic audio books. They have top-notch readers, and even add nice little touches like music at the beginning and end of each CD, and lovely artwork on every CD.

For a lover of classics and/or charming old-fashioned adventure stories, I highly recommend this one.

A Rolicking Read
"We seek him here, we seek him there, that demned, elusive Pimpernel."
Indeed,everyone seeks for the identity of the famed Scarlet Pimpernel. The French Committee of Public Safety wants him because he and his fellow Englishmen keep saving aristocrats from the hungry blade of Madame Guillotine. The British worship their unknown hero, their curiosity as to his identity growing every day.

I first read this book as a young girl, and I fell in love with it. Set during the time of the French Revolution, it's a combination romance, mystery and high adventure novel. Even the reader isn't certain at first who the mysterious hero is. Then our loyalties are torn between him and the lovely and talented Marguerite Blakeney, a French woman married to a British gentleman and fop. Forced to choose between saving the life of her beloved brother Armand and betraying the noble Pimpernel, she struggles with her actions and choice.

The Scarlet Pimpernel is a quick read, which I found a pity, because I wanted the fun to continue. There is a follow up novel -- short stories of continuing adventures called The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel. I recently re-read both of them, and found them still entertaining and fun.

Why is he called the Scarlet Pimpernel? It's a small red roadside flower in England. Beyond that, your guess is as good as mine.

Fantastic!
Sir Percy is a man's man, and every woman's dream! Save for the fact that he leaves for months on end. This is a terrific look back in time at the days of the Reign of Terror. I love Orczy's insight to the time. Great read! I highly recommend it!