Reviews with content warning for Antisemitism - The Scarlet Pimpernel

swashbuckling indeed, with interesting main characters, disguises, humor and a bit of sexual tension that honestly surprised me.

three things detracted from ultimate enjoyment:
1) the sudden antisemitism right near the end
2) the overly obvious stance of promonarchy from the author, to the point of being frankly, an aristocratic kiss-ass
and 3) the fact that Marguerite, while being very witty, was kinda dumb despite being toted as "the cleverest woman in all europe"

Still....will I read the other books? hell yeah

Content Warnings

jessrock's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The Scarlet Pimpernel is apparently the origin of the "hero with a secret identity" trope. I really enjoyed the story in spite of plenty of weaknesses and issues, including: the relationship between Marguerite and her husband was baffling; the Scarlet Pimpernel in spite of being written as a Robin Hood type of hero isn't stealing from the rich to give to the poor but actually stealing the rich to get them away from the poor (ferrying aristocrats out of France during the Reign of Terror); the author, a baroness, is very wink-wink in the way she writes about classes; and there's a LOT of antisemitism in the latter half of the book.

Content Warnings

evitak's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional fast-paced

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

3.5

I'm not too fond of pro-rich people narratives to be honest, so I approached this with low hopes to begin with. It was something of a pleasant surprise on that aspect I suppose, since it did attempt to empathize with both sides and only directly condemn the extremities, through Marguerite and her brother. The author tends to overuse specific words and phrases to an occasionally noticeable extent. Some parts towards the end have aged quite poorly, even if they may not reflect the author's opinions.

Content Warnings

csifbi23's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

Content Warnings

attoliairene's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous lighthearted mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

All books should be marketed like this —> Book Title: A Romance

We seek him here, we seek him there,
Those Frenchies seek him everywhere.
Is he in heaven?—Is he in hell?
That demmed, elusive Pimpernel?

HYSTERICAL LAUGHTER

I was 13 when I first read this gem of a book and it truly has stood the test of time - I enjoyed reading it as much as I did back then!

Just a note that some 19th/20th century ideologies (which are still present today, just less prevalent) can be seen quite strongly at the end of the book.

Content Warnings

More...