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The Scarlet Pimpernel

January 12, 2009 by Lisa

In his history class at school, my son watched “The Scarlet Pimpernel” as part of a unit on the French Revolution. I had a vague memory of seeing a portion of the movie many years ago but had never read the book; so, on a recent trip to the library I picked up a copy of Baroness Orczy’s novel and quickly devoured it.

The year is 1792 and the Revolution is at its bloodiest with the guillotine enforcing and defining the Reign of Terror. The only hope for the aristocracy to escape such a brutal death is through the exploits of the elusive Scarlet Pimpernel, an English master of disguise who has captured the imaginations of English and French alike. To the Englishmen, he is their hometown hero and a source of great pride; to the French noblemen and women who owe him their freedom, he is a miracle worker; to the French revolutionaries he is a thorn in the flesh and thus they seek his capture at all costs. Their only clue is his calling card featuring a red flower, the scarlet pimpernel.

The novel introduces its readers not only to a horribly brutal time in history, but also to the unforgettable characters of Sir Percy Blakeney, an extremely rich Englishmen known only for his sense of style and his lack of intelligence, and Lady Marguerite Blakeney, a beautiful Frenchwoman, former actress, and Sir Percy’s wife, known for her cleverness and impeccable taste. Their adventures, as well as those of the Scarlet Pimpernel, make for an entertaining story that is both humorous and suspenseful.

In short, I loved The Scarlet Pimpernel and I think you will as well! I am now eager to see the movie again….

Wife and mother, Bible teacher and blogger, Lisa loves Jesus, coffee, dark chocolate and, of course, books. Read more of her reflections at Lisa writes….

Filed Under: Classics, Fiction, Historical, Lisa

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Comments

  1. Amy says

    January 12, 2009 at 7:37 pm

    This sounds wonderful! I took a whole class on the French Revolution and Napoleonic period in college, so I’m really interested in this time period. Sigh. There goes another one to add to my TBR list!

  2. Carrie, Reading to Know says

    January 12, 2009 at 7:43 pm

    I LOVE this book and its been eons since I’ve read it. There is a whole series of these books, actually, and although I still haven’t read any of them (horrors) I hope to rectify that situation soon! (Here is one:

    http://www.amazon.com/El-Dorado-Adventures-Pimpernel-Literature/dp/0486440265/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231807358&sr=8-1

  3. Laura says

    January 12, 2009 at 9:02 pm

    I loved this book. I need to look up the others and read them, some day, maybe not this year as I have a list to get through already!

  4. Jennifer, Snapshot (and 5M4B) says

    January 13, 2009 at 8:16 am

    Ha — this review was helpful to me, because I still think of this book as the “Scarlet Pumpernickel” and couldn’t have told you what it was about or in what time period it was set, so now I can seem smarter.

  5. Stephanie'sMommyBrain says

    January 14, 2009 at 10:40 pm

    LOVE this book!! It’s been years and years since I read it or watched the movie. There’s a series?! {sigh} So many books. So little time.

  6. hopeinbrazil says

    January 17, 2009 at 3:28 pm

    This is one of the few books I’ve read more than once. It’s a favorite! I’ve never seen a movie version that did it justice, though.

  7. Terry says

    January 30, 2009 at 10:56 am

    This is one of my all-time favorite books. It’s clever, humorous, friendship, heroes, and has just enough twists and turns to keep you reading. It is so nice to see how many people love the book in the comments … most times when I say its my favorite, I get quizzical looks. I don’t remember the movie, so I’m looking forward to hearing if it lives up to the book!

Trackbacks

  1. More Books Monday « Hope Is the Word says:
    January 19, 2009 at 8:15 am

    […] aforementioned three nonfiction books in back-to-back-to-back.  Perhaps that is why when I read Lisa’s review of The Scarlet Pimpernel at 5 Minutes for Books that I decided immediately to add it to my TBR list.  I have an interest in […]

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