Reviews

The Scarlett Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy

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memelollars's review against another edition

5.0

Fantastic read aloud! My mom read it aloud to us, and I really enjoyed reading it to Avery. It is surprisingly humorous and a suspenseful page turner. Avery loved it so much and asked me to read it anytime we had a break in our day. She even read it aloud to me while we were driving. She said it was 4.5 stars for her; she took off 1/2 a star because, in her words, “the romance was too heavy”.

We had some concerns about anti-Semitism and discussed whether it was coming from the author or the characters (villains). By the end of the book, we concluded it was mostly the latter.

nedge's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

jacquelinepon's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

whippycleric's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I was surprised by how much I loved this book. It's an old writing style but with the characters and the plot it's perfect. It feels like a Georgette heyer novel but with more drama. Given the opportunity I'd love to go see the original play, and I've read this I'll be taking down the sequels and prequels. I can see why not everyone loves the book, it's not complex, but it's so much fun to read. A touch predictable in parts but I didn't even find that to distract from the book as I always looking forward to the reveal and how the other characters would react. I hovered between 4.5 and 5 but in the end I just loved every minute of reading it so couldn't knock it down despite some possibly dates writing techniques.

sarahcoller's review against another edition

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4.0

My daughter has been raving about this book for a couple years. When she created a reading challenge for it this month, I decided I'd better jump in and give it a go. I found it to be highly entertaining, if a bit flowery-romantic in places. (Percy kissing the steps his wife walked on...or "sleep sedulously avoided her eyes") Methinks we have an overly-fanciful authoress on our hands...

I had the identity of The Scarlet Pimpernel figured out very early in but I think it had a lot to do with my daughter dropping some hints over the past couple years. I wonder if I would have figured it out so easily had I not heard quite a bit about the story already.

Super fun story---I'm sure I'll be reading it again in the future!

kh2912's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

cpjeanz's review against another edition

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4.0

What can I say about this book? It's frankly one of my favorite stories ever. It has everything you could want: good villain, intriguing main characters, a romp of a story, action and of course some romance too. It obviously has some dated dialogue and sentiments, but it's just fun from start to finish. To me, this is what a classic is, a story you can enjoy and feel regardless of when it released, and it still hits you the same way.

Quick hits:
+ Percy is such a great character. He's dynamic and mysterious, keeping the reader on their toes, never knowing what he'll say or do next.
+ Chauvelin is a great villain. The tense moments created with him in the room have you on the edge of your seat.
+ The side characters have a nice role in the story and it's fun watching them simp over The Scarlet Pimpernel.
+ Percy and Marguerite have such good chemistry. Every scene between them you can feel the tension and emotion between them. Their story is such a great subplot. The scene after the party when they're outside is just *chef's kiss*.
- A bunch of antisemitic remarks in the story. Unfortunately a standard of the time. There's one section of the story that contains a lot, but the rest doesn't have anything really.

Overall, I love this book. I love the writing, story, and characters. The story feels really personable even for being 100 years old, and I would highly recommend people read this, especially if you appreciate classics. Also, if you haven't, I highly recommend watching the movie with Leslie Howard and Merle Oberon. It's not a direct adaptation, but it keeps so much of the core and heart of the story. I prefer it much more than the one from the 80s or 90s, and it evokes the same feeling the book did for me. I look forward to my next reread!