The Scarlet Pimpernel

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a great classic. Strong characters that really react to each other, either through witty, playful banter or heavy and dramatic responses.

It is so very fun to hear about the great escapes of the Scarlet Pimpernel, and how he foils those evil french upstarts. The morality is painfully black and white and dramatically narrated, but every once in a while it's fun to imagine there really is a plainly evil person and a saintly good one, duking it out for the good of humanity, either on a small or grand scale.

I like the plot, and the changes and growth in the characters. Realistically difficult decisions placed on the heroine that reveal her true character and match her actions perfectly.

I love a strong heroine, and Marguriete carries herself so very well until the last three pages. It is disappointing to see that both the protagonist and antagonist are smarter than her in the end, especially when she was hailed as Europe's most intelligent woman. But at least she came off as smarter than the scarlet pimpernel's right hand man Andrew.

It was really pathetic that she got the typical womanly weakness of brain at the end, just when the villan can trap her and then weakness of body when the hero is conveniently available to wisk her away. And apparantly, a few days of worrying and a few hours of walking is more taxing on the physical body than a whipping meant to be just short of lethal.

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