It’s a wild flower, in the primrose family. I’m sad to admit I only just learned it this summer. Of course, you must know, I can now say I’ve read the Scarlet Pimpernel.
Were you forced to read it for school? Have you seen the stage play? Have you (like me, before this summer) heard about it your whole life and always wondered what in the world a pimpernel is but didn’t wonder enough to pick up the book and read it?
It’s short. It’s swashbuckling. And it’s good! If you’ve been thinking you should read some classics to feed your brain, but when it comes to actually picking one up, you yearn for something more modern, I beseech you (the language kinda gets stuck in your head J) read this one!
The story takes place during the French Revolution when the lower classes ousted the aristocracy via Madame Guillotine, watching the proceedings like sport. The author was herself, a baroness from Hungry who was forced to flee her country, losing all the family lands.
The politics from the French Revolution written from an author sympathetic to the aristocracy in France is a fascinating read in light of our current political climate. I will not opine here, but suffice it to say, there was much food for thought.
More than that, the story clips along at a good pace, the hero and heroine are wonderfully opposed to each other at the beginning and though it is a romance, the intrigue, mystery, and general adventure held my interest all the way through.
Baroness Orczy may not have been a professional writer when she wrote it, but she knew the life of an ex-pat in England and she knew how to swashbuckle. (Sorry, I just had to use that word twice – it’s so much fun to say!) Give it a whirl. You’ll find out why the pimpernel matters. And you’ll sound really smart at dinner parties when this book is mentioned and you know all about it. (FYI: you might have to be the one that brings it up. But you’ll still sound smart. J)
Have you read any great classics this summer? Do you have any classics on your "to be read" list?
Have you read any great classics this summer? Do you have any classics on your "to be read" list?
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