This is a pretty basic Pimpernel story with a little variation here and there, set in a different time period and with a different cast. In some ways it evokes The Scarlet Pimpernel, with Rosemary in place of Marguerite faced with a “terrible either-or” put to her by the villain. Unfortunately, Orczy’s writing style doesn’t lend itself as well to the 1920’s as it does to the 1790’s. I struggled to connect with a single character and found myself skimming over a whole lot of Rosemary’s repetitive internal agonizing. Oh, and if anyone named Lord Tarkington ever starts monologuing his life story at you, just run. That is a good ten to fifteen minutes of your life that you will never get back.

Though I didn’t much enjoy the last Pimpernel short story collection I read, I wanted to end the reading year as I began it: with Baroness Emmuska Orczy. This delightful short story collection beats the pants off the other collection (The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel) like Sir Percy beats the pants off Chauvelin every time they clash. Though many of the plot elements are similar to those of the novels, more effort was made to craft them into mostly-original stories which I thought made a lovely addition to the series.

I’m glad my 2016 reading ended on a high note. So glad I want to hug this book. ♥

This is a short story collection best read if you don’t plan on reading any other novels beyond The Scarlet Pimpernel. If you do plan to read them, you might as well skip this, in my opinion. Half the stories are reworded mish-mashes of various daring rescues from the novels. I really enjoyed one story of the eight, so it wasn’t a complete waste of time, at least.

If you plan on reading this Pimpernel adventure, do yourself a favor and don’t read the description beforehand. It gives away 99.9% of the plot. Literally.

In this stirring tale of Stockholm syndrome love and adventure, I got the feeling that Orczy felt badly for how she treated Pierre Adet and decided to give him a new name and a chance at redemption. There are a more than a few similarities between this book and Lord Tony’s Wife, enough to give it a strong recycled flavor. On the one hand, this story feels superfluous. On the other hand, I’m sort of glad Pierre Adet got another chance as André Vallon.

On the other, other hand, Stockholm syndrome. Bleh.

Don't you love it when the author spoilers the ending with the book title? I know I do! Hah! I do but jest. The endings of novels of this type are never really in doubt, are they? It's not a matter of who will win, but how, and in this case the how is highly entertaining.

Orczy's usual penchant for repetition and verb tense changes really got on my nerves this time. I have this love/hate relationship with her books. I love (most of) her characters and stories, but I kind of (really) don't like her writing style. She'll probably never get five stars from me (alas!), but I'll ♥ Sir Percy and Marguerite forever.