It is 1792 and the French Revolution is changing the setting in Europe. Everyday, the people are sending about 100 aristocrats, who have oppressed the people and rejected liberty and fraternity, to Madame la Guillotine. However, there have recently been secret escapes past the rebelling guards, led by an unknown daredevil saviour, the Scarlet Pimpernel. Obviously, not everyone likes what the Pimpernel is doing, which leads to attempts to capture and kill him, led by Chauvelin. Can the Scarlet Pimpernel escape these assassination attempts?
Written in the early 1900s, this classic work by Emma Orczy certainly deserves a spot on your bookshelf. It is a good indicator of the type of writing which was popular in those days, and is a must read for…show more content… I especially liked the opening, in which it at first seems as if Orczy is telling the reader to support the revolution and their radical idea of sending nobles to the guillotine. However, in a few sentences, the reader's head is ripped into the book in stunning fashion as a guard who is a fan-favorite falls for a magnificent trap, allowing a noble to escape France, all with the help of the Scarlet Pimpernel. It still looks like Orczy wants the revolutionaries, and especially Chauvelin, to capture the Scarlet Pimpernel, but when one of the leading characters discovers a previously unknown relationship with the incredible mind of Scarlet Pimpernel, the tides turn, and the reader is practically forced to support the Pimpernel. Although the table of contents basically gives away the ending, how the Pimpernel is able to perform 'The Escape' (which is the last chapter) does keep the reader interested rather than bored having already figured out the bigger picture ending.
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emma Orczy is a well written novel with many strengths, although there are some major problems. Although it does contain excellent turning points throughout the book, many things are given away, whether it be who the secret main character is or what happens in the end. It vaults the reader in different directions with scenes which often look to be subtle but turn
