The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy

Genre: Historical Fiction, Adventure, Romance
Length: 306 pages

Reviewed by: Laurelyn Aubrey

As she did so, her foot knocked against a small object which had apparently been lying close to the desk, on the carpet, and which now went rolling right across the room.
She stooped to pick it up. It was a solid gold ring, with a flat shield on which was engraved a small device.
Marguerite turned it over in her fingers and then studied the engraving on the shield. It represented a small star-shaped flower, of a shape she had seen so distinctly twice before...

The Scarlet Pimpernel, written by the oddly-named Baroness Orczy, is a classic tale of suspense and bravery. The story begins on English shores during the thick of the French Revolution. It seems that life should be wonderful for the Lady Marguerite Blakeney: she has a reputation for her beauty and wit across Europe, she leads the latest fashions in England, and she was recently married to one of the richest young lords available. But Marguerite finds her husband foolishly dull and her life very lonely indeed, until a fateful meeting with a French spy on the English coast. In just an instant, Marguerite is unwillingly thrown into the heart of a scheme to learn the identity of the Scarlet Pimpernel, a mysterious hero who is saving families from the horrors of Madame la Guillotine.

In many ways the Baroness Orczy appears to be an amateur author. Her writing is sometimes repetitive, a bit 2D, and frequently tells you more than it shows you. But once the story gets off the ground, readers may find they don’t mind the patches of cumbersome writing in their desire to follow the thickening plot. The Baroness may not have been as polished as they come, but she sure knew how to spin a good story.

For the most part, The Scarlet Pimpernel is a straightforward tale of heroics, free from complicated moral questions. The French Revolution is depicted as a horrible period of mob accusations and mass murder, while the bravery of individuals who risk their lives to save innocent Frenchmen from execution is plainly commended. There are a few French good guys (most notably the main heroine), but the book feels very pro-British, and the British color is what gives it much of its charm. Philosophy is avoided; the characters aren’t given a higher purpose for doing the right thing other than patriotism and the sport of it. In some ways that’s a shame, but there’s still much to applaud in the sacrifice and devotion of a simple adventure story. I also appreciated how Marguerite comes to her love own husband in the sweet, reserved romance toward the end.

I first read this book as a young teen, and greatly enjoyed it. After a few more years of reading experience, I read it again and found the writing itself doesn’t deserve the epic placement it had in my mind… but the story still does. It might not win literary awards, but it won the award of my love, and it will continue to stand as one of my most-enjoyed fictional glimpses of the French Revolution.