The Scarlet Pimpernel
by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
★★★☆
The
Reign of Terror in France is in full swing and members of the Royalty
are getting their domes loped off left and right by the handy-dandy
guillotine. With the help of the infamous “Scarlet Pimpernel” many are
fleeing the country to the safe shores of England. Unfortunately the
Pimpernel, whose identity is a mystery, is being hunted by the French.
Marguerite,
a French woman who made it out of the country, is being blackmailed to
help with the search for the Pimpernel. Her estranged husband, Sir Percy
Blakeney, disapproves of her past actions and she’s left to find a
solution on her own.
SPOILERS
I
really loved the ending. It wasn’t shocking, but I felt like it was a
good twist and wrapped everything up nicely. In a funny way, it reminded
me of Batman. The story of a dimwitted playboy who is actually a super
hero saving lives. He never tells his love interest who he is, but he
manages to save her and others multiple times. It felt like a super hero
action movie.
SPOILERS OVER
BOTTOM
LINE: It’s fun and entertaining; a great adventure book, but don’t
expect too much depth. Read it if you’re in the mood for a bit of
swashbuckling.
“A woman’s heart is such a complex problem, the owner thereof is often most incompetent to find the solution of this puzzle.”
10 comments:
There is also an extremely hilarious movie version of this book. The hero has a stock phrase my teenagers went around echoing for years: "sink me!"
I love that you used the word "swashbuckling" in this review! Also, I had to google it :)
Swashbuckling and intrigue could be fun for a poolside read! I may just have to pick this up for my beach bag :)
I remember reading about 5 pages of this, but never moving on, and it had nothing to do with whether I liked the book or not--just a timing thing. I've got to pick it up again when I want a bit of fun.
Jeanne - That sounds hilarious, I'll have to check it out.
Brenna - It's such a great word and one that you don't have the opportunity to use very frequently.
Kat - It's a light one, but the end get good.
Shelley - It's not what I was expecting and I almost gave up on it too, but it was a quick read.
Sometimes entertainment and a bit of swashbuckling is all I need. :)
I love how you show several covers. The one on the right is pretty cool. Very mysterious.
This is the first book I ever remember being completely lost in, that I totally lost track of time and couldn't remember where I was. I love it so much, I reread it all the time, even though it's silly. It's so great!
I definitely enjoyed this one, in fact, I've been contemplating rereading it. Part of me wants to see if the rest of the series is any good!
There are a couple of good adaptations of this one!!! And I'd actually recommend watching them all. Because, personally, I can't get enough of Sir Percy.
Kristi - I love finding different covers of the same book. They can give you such different impressions of what the story will be like!
Jenny - There's nothing quite like getting lost in a great book. Those are the ones that really stay with you.
Becky - I haven't heard anything about the rest of the series. If you read one you'll have to let me know if it's good!
I just finished this book as my first classic for the Classics Club! I enjoyed it and noticed the similarities with Batman too! It was fun and fast-paced. I’ll link my review, if interested!
https://elle-alice.blogspot.com/2020/07/classics-club-scarlet-pimpernel.html
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