The Scarlet Pimpernel
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Perhaps the most legendary alias of all time, “The Scarlet Pimpernel” hides the identity of a British nobleman who, masked by various disguises, leads a band of young men to undermine the Reign of Terror after the French Revolution.
The Scarlet Pimpernel makes daring raid after daring raid into the heart of France to save aristocrats condemned to the guillotine. At each rescue, he leaves his calling card: a tiny, blood-red flower – a pimpernel – mocking the power of Robespierre and his Committee of Public Safety.
Having been told that his own wife was an informer who delivered an aristocrat into the hands of the Committee, the Scarlet Pimpernel must keep his identity and work a secret while he struggles against the like he feels for her. Until the day her own brother is taken prisoner…
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I never received this item, can’t rate it, but I want my money back!!!!!!
A month is way tooo long to wait for a book.
Reader’s Rating: 1 / 5
This was a slow start book for me, but it selected up after a few chapters and I really loved it! The seller sent it quickly and the book was in excellent shape.
Reader’s Rating: 3 / 5
Let me say, first of all, that I am surprised that so few people have read this book–as evidenced by the few reviews. Hopefully that will change.
Baroness Emmuska Orczy is not well known as a fiction writer but she is the leader of a highly well loved series of books about a heroic character known as The Scarlet Pimpernel. Initially a play by that name proved to be a huge success with audiences (but not with critics) and led to the publication of the first in the series which also proved well loved, but lacked critical acclaim. The Scarlet Pimpernel is a swashbuckling adventure tale set at the time just after the French Revolution. The year is 1792. King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette are awaiting execution by the infamous guillotine. All the landed gentry of France dread for their lives as by the hundreds they are accused and then executed. But a courageous band of English nobles comes to their rescue, led by a mysterious man known only as the Scarlet Pimpernel, so named after a British wayside flower that he has adopted as his signature.
As we soon learn, the Scarlet Pimpernel is non additional than Sir Percy Blakeney, the richest man in England who masquerades as a foolish fop agreed to card playing and writing poetry. No one outside his trusty band knows his right identity, least of all his wife, Lady Blakeney, the ex- Marguerite St. Just, a French actress and the most gorgeous and cleverest women in Europe. Marguerite and her brother, Armand, have loved each additional dearly since the death of their parents. In fact when a French nobleman insults Armand, Marguerite denounces him to the government. The man and his family tree are duly executed. This act, unintended by Marguerite, causes Blakeney to adopt a decidedly cool attitude toward his new wife, but the couple lives together in England in high luxury.
Into this picture comes Chauvelin, an agent of the French government, who is determined to learn the identity of the Scarlet Pimpernel, lure him to France where he can be arrested and executed. Toward this purpose Chauvelin kidnaps two of the Scarlet Pimpernel’s closest associates and discovers that Armand St. Just is also a part of the group. He uses this information to coerce Marguerite into helping him learn the identity of the heroic leader. Not knowing that her spouse is, in fact, this person Marguerite provides Chauvelin with the needed information. Later, learning the truth she is horrified and rushes to the aid of her spouse who is now in France trying to rescue another nobleman, the Comte de Tourney. Marguerite rushes to Calais with one of the band, where the tale comes to its dramatic conclusion.
The Scarlet Pimpernel is regarded as the precursor of such legendary heroes as Zorro, Batman and even James Bond. Indeed, he drives around in a fabulous coach much as Bond uses luxury sports cars, thwarts evil foreign agents ala Bond, and even has a gorgeous woman by his side, even if she happens to be his wife. He also is very clever and outwits his opponents at every turn. Unlike Bond, but like the additional heroes, his right identify is largely unknown.
The Scarlet Pimpernel is hardly fantastic literature, but it is fun to read and can be loved for the escapist literature that it is. I give it four stars because it is not up to the standards of fantastic classical literature, for pure enjoyment it cannot be beat.
Reader’s Rating: 4 / 5
I saw the TV movie, Scarlet Pimpernel, many years ago on PBS, but missed the last episode. Bummer… Well now I know how it finished. I recommend this for readers of all ages.
Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5
It is simple to see why Baroness Orczy’s tale has become such a classic. It combines adventure and romance in the gorgeous 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 tale focuses on Sir Percy Blakeney and his French wife Marguerite. Both are fabulously gorgeous, 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 to some extent droll, well that can all be easily overlooked because of all the above qualities. He is married to Marguerite, equally gorgeous and widely regarded as the cleverest woman in Europe. Alas, their marriage of just one year, although begun in fantastic passion and like, has already fallen on hard times; a misunderstanding has pushed them apart and they are small more than polite strangers.
The Scarlet Pimpernel is the mysterious, courageous adventurer who has managed to rescue copious 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 right 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 spouse 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 start the tale knowing nothing. How long would it have taken me to figure it out?
Michael Page’s narration is brilliant — Brilliance Audio does a wonderful job with their classic audio books. They have top-notch readers, and even add nice small touches like composition at the beginning and end of each CD, and lovely artwork on every CD.
For a lover of classics and/or charming ancient-fashioned adventure tales, I highly recommend this one.
Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5