8 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
We seek him here...
Date of Review: May 23, 2001
The Bottom Line: It's fabulous. Just read it.
I LOVE this book. It rocks beyond belief. It runs fluidly, taking us from France in the height of Revolution to a vivid tavern in England where spies and aristocrats alike discuss the times.
We follow the French Lady Marguerite Blakeney (nee St. Just) as she deals with her foppish husband, and the fear for her imprisoned brother Armand in France, as she strikes a terrible deal for Armand's life in exchange for the Pimpernel's, a 'demmed elusive' mystery man, master of disguise who is saving the captured aristocrats of France. Even the rich need a Robin Hood!
As soon as our heroine gets a clue as to his identity, she gives him away without even knowing who he is.
Of course, she realizes later that it was a mistake to betray his identity. With surprising pluck, she goes to Paris to warn the Pimpernel and what follows has you holding your breath for about half an hour.
But the Pimpernel isn't just a comic book hero. (Not wishing to say anything derogatory about comic book heroes, of course!) He isn't just a colorfully drawn figure in this book, he's a veritable oil painting, as is our beloved heroine Marguerite. Armand St. Just's life isn't the only one at stake. Also in crisis are the Pimpernel, several more aristocrats, Marguerite, and not to mention the tense relationship she currently has with her idiot of a husband Sir Percy.
You'll be pleased to know all is resolved in the end.
And then read The Elusive Pimpernel. I said The Scarlet Pimpernel in tense, but that book will transcend that statement utterly.
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