The Scarlet Pimpernel is probably the most lighthearted adventure one can read covering events during France's Reign of Terror. The secret League of the Scarlet Pimpernel is tasked with rescuing French aristocrats from Paris before they can lose their heads to Madame Guillotine. Despite this rather serious sounding objective, this novel is more of a sappy love story that lacks any true suspense.

Though Marguerite Blakeney is, we are repeatedly told, "the cleverest woman in Europe," she takes interminably long to figure out what is going on under her nose and fails to consider the consequences of her actions to the extent that she inadvertently causes the death of an entire family.

No worries, though. She is beautiful, with tiny, white, delicate hands, as we are also repeatedly told, which absolves one of a multitude of sins. Her great beauty and intelligence is what led the handsome, rich Percy Blakeney to marry Marguerite, though he soon has reason to regret this decision. Quickly moving from disdain to worship of her husband, Marguerite inundates the reader with her adoration of the man we had been previously informed was dimwitted and vain.

This book has an odd pro-aristocrat tone to it that one does not usually find in novels of the French Revolution. Sure, Robespierre and his followers went a little over the top, but most writers still choose to feature the starving, oppressed people of France as the victims, rather than as murderers of innocent women and children (though, of course, sometimes they were). Each Frenchman lacking noble blood in this book is portrayed quite negatively: bloodthirsty, dirty, stupid. It is a light, quick read if you don't take these attitudes too seriously.

Put aside the dukes, rakes, rogues, earls, and scoundrels of the English ballroom. Pick up a romance novel set during the Reign of Terror/French Revolution years. Let the uber angst begin!

 

Summary:

The injured young woman Michel Belanger finds in the woods is certainly an aristocrat. And in the midst of France's bloody revolution, sheltering nobility merits a trip to the guillotine. Yet despite the risk, Michel knows he must bring the wounded girl to his cottage to heal.

Attacked by soldiers and left for dead, Isabelle de La Rouchecauld has lost everything. A duke's daughter cannot hope for mercy in France, so escaping to England is her best chance of survival. The only thing more dangerous than staying would be falling in love with this gruff yet tender man of the land. Even if she sees, for the first time, how truly noble a heart can be….

 

Review:

This book is pretty high on the preachy scale (probably a 5-6 on a 1-10 scale) for me, yet it still worked for me. Forgiveness (of oneself, others, and the people responsible for Revolution) is the big theme of the book.

 

The history was greatly done, especially Michel's feelings of bitter disappointment after the Revolution did not fulfill the many promises it made to peasants.

 

However, the characters are all those you can root for out of the gate. Fully fleshed out and great realistic dialogue (could do with the half-hearted French sayings though). A bit suspenseful for a Harlequin Historical inspirational.

 

The ending is so totally Harlequin and is a little too neatly wrapped up, but I didn't mind since I was taken on a long bitter journey of forgiveness of two people who were genuinely good to each other and those around them.

 

Needs one more round of proof reading (NOOK copy) - there were punctuation errors and a few choses wrong words (county rather than country). I expect higher standards from Harlequin and the proof problems were noticeable at first glance.

 

4.5 solid. I would recommend this book so much, as long as the person I am recommending to can handle a good amount of prayer and Bible verses. I am going to archive this one (keeper shelf).

The bloody guillotine...The slaughter of fatted nobles...The bloodlust massacre of innocents. G.A. Henty gives us the sour taste of these images from the French Revolution in his adventure story, In the Reign of Terror.

The tale follows Harry Sandwith, an English youth on the cusp of adulthood, as he tries to find a place in life for himself in France in the late 18th century. While there, the rumors of populous unrest explodes into the most unimaginable of horrors. Henty places his hero in the very center of history, even rubbing elbows with Revolutionary icons such as Robespierre. Where the politics of the times are concerned, the novel takes a decidedly antagonistic view of the Revolution. The plight of the people is not ignored, however, the acts of violence against the noble class are to be abhorred, if the novel's tone is the measuring stick to go by.

Adventure novels rely upon action to draw in the readers. Here the action comes in spurts and leaves much to be desired. Modern readers, accustomed to the pulse-racing nonstop action of today's highly-polished books and movies, may be frustrated by Henty's style. Too many static scenes drag on, too many words are wasted in describing plans instead of just enacting them, and too many insignificant actions are pondered upon. Once I even scared myself into thinking I'd accidentally started reading a James Fenimore Cooper!

The dialogue has issues too. A good deal of almost absurdly detailed exposition is delivered via dialogue, stilting it unnaturally. Emotional and psychological character transformations come at the flip of a switch: I see you are right and I am wrong. I will adjust my values. There, I have adjusted my values.

But before I finish, I don't want you to walk away from this review thinking poorly of this book. No, I actually enjoyed it for the most part, and if you can forgive the writing style, this less than perfect novel can be a fun read.

bookshelves: fraudio, amusing, play-dramatisation, published-2006, winter20092010

  http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/...

Another case for John Mortimer's foxy barrister.

Blurb - If one man can be counted on to fight injustice and insist on a fair and decent trial for everyone, whatever their circumstances, Horace Rumpole is he. So when beautiful Tiffany Khan learns that her husband has been arrested on suspicion of terrorism, she calls on him right away.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b007w0j2/Afternoon_Play_Rumpole_and_the_Reign_of_Terror_Truth_Makes_All_Things_Plain/Another case for John Mortimer's foxy barrister. Blurb - If one man can be counted on to fight injustice and insist on a fair and decent trial for everyone, whatever their circumstances, Horace Rumpole is he. So when beautiful Tiffany Khan learns that her husband has been arrested on suspicion of terrorism, she calls on him right away.Isn't it wonderful that a husband and wife play the husband and wife!:O)Horace Rumpole ...... Timothy WestHilda Rumpole ...... Prunella ScalesJudge Bullingham ...... Christopher BenjaminTiffany Khan ...... Lily Bevan'Soapy Sam' Ballard ...... Michael CochraneBonny Bernard ...... Bruce AlexanderDr Mahmood Khan ...... Shiv Grewal Barrington Whiteside ...... Geoffrey Whitehead Will Timson ...... Ben CrowePeter Plaistow ...... Christopher ScottMrs Justice Templett ...... Joanna DavidFred Sugden ...... Kim DurhamIan Antrim ...... Nigel AnthonyDirected by Marilyn ImrieBroadcast on:BBC Radio 4, 2:15pm Thursday 17th December 2009Duration:45 minutesAvailable until:3:02pm Thursday 24th December 2009Categories:Drama, Legal & Courtroom