Sir Percy Leads the Band

The Scarlet Pimpernel (chronological order) #2

by Emmuska Orczy

Sir Percy leads a band of musicians whose play is of questionable quality. Nonetheless, the disguise enables him to listen in to conversations as revolutionaries lay their plans in an ale house. But his mission on this occasion is to save the La Rodiere family and others from the Guillotine. The band uses the rabble to mask the rescue, as whilst they sing and dance around Chateau Rodiere, it becomes possible to outwit even Citizen Chauvelin, who has arrived on the scene. Treachery from within the band is afoot, however, and Sir Percy has to rely on wit and judgment to bring about an astonishing conclusion.The Emmuska Orczy was born in Tarnaörs, Heves, in Hungary, the daughter of a composer, Baron Felix Orczy, and Countess Emma Wass.Her parents left Hungary in 1868, fearful of the threat of a peasant revolution. They lived in Budapest before moving to Brussels and then on to Paris. There, she studied music with limited success before the family moved on again; this time to London, at which point her interest turned to art. She studied at the West London School of Art, followed by Heatherley's School of Fine Art, where she met a young illustrator, Henry Montague MacLean Barstow, the son of an English clergyman who was to become her friend, lover, and husband in a happy marriage that lasted nearly fifty years. They were to have one son."My marriage was for close on half a century one of perfect happiness and understanding, of perfect friendship and communion of thought. The great link in my chain of life which brought me everything that makes life worth the living."To start with there was little money and the pair worked as translator (Orczy) and illustrator, before she embarked upon a writing career in 1899 which, to start with, was not a success. By 1901, however, she had produced a second novel and a string of detective stories for a magazine which were received a little more kindly. In 1903, in co-operation with her husband, she wrote a play about an English aristocrat, Sir Percy Blakeney, whose mission in life was to rescue French aristocrats from the extreme events affecting their class during the French Revolution.The play got off to a shaky start, but soon developed a following and eventually ran for four years in the West End of London. It was translated and revised and performed in many other countries. In tandem with the play, Orczy novelized the story and this became a huge success. There followed over ten sequels which featured the central character, Blakeney, along with his family and other members of what was referred to as the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel. The first of these, I Will Repay, was published in 1906 and the last, Mam'zelle Guillotine, in 1940.She also wrote many other novels, mainly romances, but also within another genre she mastered; detective fiction. Lady Molly of Scotland Yard was one of the first novels to feature a female detective. The Old Man in the Corner stories are of particular significance, as they represented a new departure in fiction, with an ‘armchair’ detective literally attempting to reveal solutions based on logic alone.Success brought financial reward and eventually she bought an estate, Villa Bijou in Monte Carlo, Monaco, which was to become her home and where her beloved husband died in 1943. England, however, remained important to her and in addition to working tirelessly during the First World War in aid of the recruitment of male volunteers for the services, it was in Henley-on-Thames, near London, that she died in 1947.Many film and TV adaptations of Orczy’s work have been made, and her novels remain sought after and avidly digested by successive new generations of readers.

Genres: Classics, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Adventure, Historical, France, Romance

258 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1936

About the author

Full name: Emma ("Emmuska") Magdolna Rozália Mária Jozefa Borbála Orczy de Orczi was a Hungarian-British novelist, best remembered as the author of THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL (1905). Baroness Orczy's sequels to the novel were less successful. She was also an artist, and her works were exhibited at the Royal Academy, London. Her first venture into fiction was with crime stories. Among her most popular characters was The Old Man in the Corner, who was featured in a series of twelve British movies from 1924, starring Rolf Leslie.

Baroness Emmuska Orczy was born in Tarnaörs, Hungary, as the only daughter of Baron Felix Orczy, a noted composer and conductor, and his wife Emma. Her father was a friend of such composers as Wagner, Liszt, and Gounod. Orczy moved with her parents from Budapest to Brussels and then to London, learning to speak English at the age of fifteen. She was educated in convent schools in Brussels and Paris. In London she studied at the West London School of Art. Orczy married in 1894 Montague Barstow, whom she had met while studying at the Heatherby School of Art. Together they started to produce book and magazine illustrations and published an edition of Hungarian folktales.

Orczy's first detective stories appeared in magazines. As a writer she became famous in 1903 with the stage version of the Scarlet Pimpernel.

Reviews

[Jayna Baas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wasn’t quite what I expected, mainly because I began with the misconception that it would focus exclusively on the Scarlet Pimpernel and his adventures. When the first half was mostly other characters and their ridiculous lopsided love triangle, I really struggled to keep everybody straight and figure out why it mattered. But after forty-odd percent, it all began to make more sense. (Although I still think it would have worked just fine sans a character or two.) I loved the scenes that explicitly showed Sir Percy and his loyal band, especially the outrage they all voiced whenever someone defied the Scarlet Pimpernel. At the same time, I’m starting to notice that a good Scarlet Pimpernel story leaves as much to the imagination as it spells out—we get to say, “Wait! That was him?! He was there?!” quite a bit, which is rather fun. Some things got confusing, but that’s my own fault for reading too fast. I also discovered the loveliest word—quidnunc—which I will feature in my next newsletter. And Lord St. John Devinne! No spoilers, but…okay, maybe this is a spoiler. Close your eyes if you don’t want to know, but I couldn’t help thinking that the Scarlet Pimpernel’s reaction demonstrated how Christ would have treated Judas if only Judas would have repented. Is that a terribly spiritual conclusion to draw from a French Revolution spy thriller with occasional cussing? Yes, but that’s what came to mind when I read it.

(Also, ahem. The first time I encountered Sir Percy in this book, I suspected him of being Chauvelin. Oops. He was all in black. What can I say?)

[Shadow Jubilee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say that this is my second favorite book in the Scarlet Pimpernel series that I have read so far (The Scarlet Pimpernel, The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel, I Will Repay). It was exciting with a number of adventures and rescues.

I really enjoyed seeing more interaction between The Scarlet Pimpernel and his merry men. I wish that the author would show the other men in the League. There are 19 of them who "would lay down [their] lives" for their leader, and yet we only meet about 5-6. In this book, I did meet a few new ones, which I was happy about. I enjoyed picking up clues about what the Scarlet Pimpernel is like in France. Unlike I Will Repay (I believe that is the right one) he does not have a detectable foreign accent although his comrades do, but apparently he does speak French with a precision that may have aroused suspicion had the author not emphasized that the others were too stupid to suspect anything.

Speaking of comrades, this is the second book which has a traitor in the League. I had wondered how does someone who apparently was a good judge of character pick comrades who were weak and might betray them. Fortunately, the author does answer it to my satisfaction (somewhat) later in the story. I did like how that was resolved although I wondered what the traitor's reception was like from those in the League who knew about it back in English Society. With this particular storyline, we are shown more clearly what kind of man Sir Percy Blakeney is, and I cannot help envy Marguerite Blakeney for her luck in capturing the passionate love of such a man.

This was quite a fun adventure, and before I start rhapsodizing about Sir Percy Blakeney's many fine qualities, I will end this review and look forward to seeing The Scarlet Pimpernel in action in The Elusive Pimpernel.

[Rosalee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable. In many ways just "more of the same"--the same being Sir Percy Being Awesome and Hilarious While Saving Everyone. And if you, like me, enjoy that sort of thing...

[booklady · Rating 4 out of 5]

“A Question of Honor” might have been a more fitting title for this book. There was a band involved and as always Sir Percy led his Merry Men. Here, however, he displayed great leadership, through mercy, the attribute which most emulates the Divine. In all her works, Orczy stresses the importance of compassion for one’s fellow creatures, but here she focuses on strength being as Christ said it was—in weakness, or rather meekness, humility and forgiveness, quite the opposite of what the French Revolution was all about.

In the Scarlet Pimpernel books, it is the message that matters the most, although cloaked in a good tale. Tame compared to our modern sensibilities but give me more stories like this!

[Lyss · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like the series. As the people around me have heard, my favorite parts in the book are when Chauvelin (I never know if I'm spelling it right!) is doing republic stuff and then the book will say something like, "and then he heard an inane, mocking laugh."

It's really a great book.

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not as good as the original, but still good. I want to see Percy and Marguerite together.

[James Fields · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is book two in the Scarlet Pimpernel Series. This series defined the comic book era by creating the first masked hero. The story takes place during the French Revolution when the French nobles are trying to flee for their lives from the citizens of France who are desire to behead every last noble person in the country. France has loosed up a bit since the events in book one, but things are very much still on lock down. Moving about the country is a challenge, and the ruling forces are looking for any collaborators - especially those that work with the Scarlet Pimpernel.

While the story was just as predictable as the first book (to our modern eyes), I retain that it would have had some big twists in its day. One of the best parts about this book is seeing how the Scarlet Pimpernel's character is developed now that we know who he is. We get to see his compassion and noble sentiments even in times of hardship and difficulty. We get to see his excitement for adventure and love and concern for the innocent.

Yes, the Scarlet Pimpernel is a great model for us to look up to, and I think these books would be well received by our kids. I would highly recommend these books for any voracious young readers you may know around the age of 8 or more. There will be words they don't know, but they'll have characters to admire and good morals will be instilled in them through the process.

To see more reviews check out my blog: This Sporadic Life

[Mel2me1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay all you Scarlet Pimpernel fans out there-- The sequels to The Scarlet Pimpernel are not what I had hoped them to be--purely adventure stories--rather they do have adventure and daring escapes intertwined with a love story. Yes! I hate to admit The Scarlet Pimpernel comes down to being a romance novel. Not to say Orczy is not creative and she is very clever in her daring escapes, but do not expect any deep themes within the pages.
This particular sequel chronologically follows The Scarlet Pimpernel, it is well written and Orczy describes the Reign of Terror as if she witnessed it, although she wrote it over a century later. I'm always curious to know what Sir Percy's new disguise will be, or how he will out fox the enemy with his daring escapes, but I do not recommend reading the sequels closely together because the descriptions of seething France during the French Revolution do get repetitive. If you are a true die hard Scarlet Pimpernel fan then you will love this installment, but do not seek for the answers to the universe amongst its pages.

[Kaylee DG · Rating 4 out of 5]

Orczy has done it again! This is the perfect sequel to the Scarlet Pimpernel. After the character, his identity, and his cleverness are introduced in the first book, this book gives the reader an in depth look at multiple missions carried out by The Scarlet Pimpernel and his loyal followers. In some ways, not as intense, but definitely not boring. Even though the Pimpernel's sneaky ways can be expected, they remain entertaining thanks to Orczy's writing. What is even more impressive is the fact that this was written over a hundred years after the time period it is set in.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sir Percy Leads the Band is a novel by Baroness Orczy written in 1936. Now it was written in 1936 long after other books she wrote like the obvious one, The Scarlet Pimpernel, but also I Will Repay written in 1906, The Elusive Pimpernel (1908), Eldorado (1913) and Lord Tony's Wife in 1917. There are more books that are written before she got around to writing Sir Percy Leads the Band which had me picturing the marching band my dad played in for over fifty years, but I'm already tired of listing the other books that come between the two so you'll just have to take my word for it. However I read our marching band book before any of the rest because chronologically it comes next after The Scarlet Pimpernel, set in January and February 1793. I don't know why she took so long to write it, but she did. The book follows on from the original Scarlet Pimpernel book, same good guys, same bad guys, some of them anyway. And again there are many, many people who are busy cutting other people's heads off leaving me wondering if I make it to the end of the Pimpernel series if there will be anyone left who still has a head.

It already appears that most of the nobility are just about wiped out so they have to find a new group of people to hate. But since I don't want to start with people losing their heads I'll start with the first few paragraphs in the novel:

The Hall of the Pas Perdus, the precincts of the House of Justice, the corridors, the bureaux of the various officials, judges and advocates were all thronged that day as they had been during all the week, ever since Tuesday when the first question was put to the vote: "Is Louis Capet guilty of conspiring against liberty?" Louis Capet! Otherwise Louis XVI, descendant of a long line of kings of the Grand Monarque of Saint Louis, himself the anointed, the crowned King of France! And now! Arraigned at the bar before his fellow-men, before his one-time devoted subjects, or supposedly devoted, standing before them like any criminal, accused not of murder, or forgery or theft, but of conspiring against liberty.

A king on his trial! And for his life! Let there be no doubt about that. It is a matter of life or death for the King of France. There has been talk, endless talk and debate in the Hall of Justice ever since the eleventh day of December ­ over a month ago now when Louis first appeared before the bar of the Convention. Fifty-seven questions were put to the accused. "Louis Capet, didst thou do this, that or the other? Didst thou conspire against liberty?" Louis to all the questions gave the simple reply: "No! I did not do that, nor did I do the other. If I did, it was in accordance with the then existing laws of France."

For a whole month and more this went on during the short December days when the snowfall, rain or fog obscured what there was of daylight, and the shades of evening wrapped the big hall, and all that it contained of men's passions and men's cruelty, in gloom. Then the candles were lighted and flickered in the draught till the clerk went the round with the snuffers and shipped off from each candle a bit of the thread that held the light. And the light flickered on, till judges and jury and advocates were weary, and filed out of the Hall of Justice, and the candles were finally snuffed out, extinguished by destiny and the vengeful hands of men.

I guess I didn't get so very far away from another execution after all, because it's no big surprise to find out that our king, or their king I suppose, is about to join all those other lucky ones and lose his head too. And so the king is sentenced to death and we're told that when Paris woke up that morning they were appalled, I'm not sure why since they were the ones yelling for the king's execution. Then just to prove both sides can kill we have this:

The Extremists rejoiced: the rowdy elements went about shouting "Vive la Liberté!" waving tricolour flags, carrying spikes crowned with red caps, but Paris as a whole did not respond. It pondered over the verdict, and shuddered at the murder of Lepelletier, the deputy who had put forward the proposal: "No delay! Death within twenty-four hours!" His proposal had been carried by a majority of seventy. It was then two o'clock in the morning, and he went on to Février's in the Palais Royal to get some supper. He had finished eating and was paying his bill, when he was suddenly attacked by an unknown man, said to have once belonged to the King's Guard, who plunged a dagger in the deputy's breast shouting: "Regicide! Take that!" and in the confusion that ensued made good his escape. Paris asked itself: "Why this man rather than another?" And the six hundred and ninety-six deputies who had voted for death without a recommendation for mercy shut themselves up in their apartments, being in fear of their lives.

At least he kept his head. I wonder which way to die hurt the most? We're told that even though the people are now feeling a little fear over the whole thing, the cafes and restaurants still were busy, after all, people still had to be fed, and they also had to talk. They talked mostly in whispers, who knows what you could get arrested for anymore, but they did talk, and sat around in the cafes and restaurants to do it. Most English families residing in France took this time to get out of the country, many had sent their wives and children home weeks ago. But there were still a good many there, journalists, men in business, things like that. Two of the men just sitting in a restaurant that evening are de Batz, I'm sure he has a first name but I can't remember it, and the Professor, I'm sure he has a first and a last name but I can't remember either one. The men had met and become friends at a meeting of the Jacobin Club whatever that is. You would need to know none of this if it wasn't for our professor:

The Professor had hardly moved a muscle, while de Batz indulged first in reminiscences and then in flattery. He appeared unconscious of the other's growing excitement, sat leaning back in his chair, one slender hand framed in spotless cambric resting on the table. And all the time his eyes watched under heavy lids the exodus of the various clients of the restaurant, as one by one they finished their dinner, paid their bill, picked up hat and coat and passed out in to the fast gathering gloom. And somehow one felt that nothing escaped those eyes, that they saw everything, and noted everything even though their expression never changed.

But our Mr. de Batz has a plan to rescue the king on his way to the guillotine. It seems that he and five hundred other men will be posted during the taking of the king through the streets in different houses along the route between the Temple and the Place de la Revolution. At a signal they plan on rushing the carriage where only the king and his confessor will be sitting, they will drag the King out of it and during the confusion that follow they will smuggle him into a house close by, in which the inhabitants are all on the king's side. When the professor doesn't respond to this and de Batz stops speaking to ask him what he is thinking, he replies that he is thinking of the 80,000 men on the other side who will be there taking the king to the execution, but de Batz says they have surprise on their side. And now de Batz wants the professor's help in this, he wants him to go to the Abbé Edgeworth, the king's old priest and have him come and go along with the king. The little problem is that those loyal patriots have already denied the king's request for his own confessor and sent him one of their own. De Batz and company plan to switch the two confessors somewhere along the way, and then the Abbe would be able to prepare and encourage the king for what is about to happen. Our professor, however, refuses to help, and then this happens:

"Surely you are not hesitating, Monsieur le Professeur! A little thing like that! And for such a cause! I would scour Paris myself, only that my hands are full. And my five hundred adherents--"

"You should apply to one of them, Monsieur le Baron," the other broke in quietly.

Monsieur le Baron gave a jump.

"You don't mean to say that you hesitate?" he uttered in a hoarse whisper.

"I do more than that Monsieur le Baron. I refuse."

"Refuse?...ref-"

De Batz was choking. He passed his thick finger round the edge of his cravat.

"To lend a hand in dragging the Abbé Edgeworth into this affair."

De Batz' florid face had become the colour of beet-root. He stretched out his hand and clenched his fist as if he meant to strike that urbane milksop in the face. However, he thought better of that. A fracas in a public place was not part of his programme. His hand unclenched, but it closed round the stem of a wineglass and snapped it in two. The Professor scarcely moved. In the far corner the man who had been reading put down his paper and glanced round lazily, while one of the domino players paused in his game, with one piece between his fingers and a look of indifferent curiosity in his eyes.

It's those men reading and playing dominos we have to watch for now. We have to pay attention to this also:

"I don't believe it," de Batz protested. "No man with decent feeling in him would refuse to render this service. Good God, man! You are not risking your life, not like I and my friends are willing to do. You can help us, I know. You must have a reason ­ a valid reason ­ for refusing to do so. As I say, you wouldn't be risking your life...."

"Not mine, but that of an innocent and a good man."

"What the devil do you mean?"

"You are proposing to throw Abbé Edgeworth to the wolves."

"I am not. I am proposing to give him the chance of doing his bit in the work of saving the life of his King. He will thank me on his knees for this."

"He probably would, for he is of the stuff that martyrs are made. But I will not help you to send him to his death."

"Whoever accompanies Louis XVI to the guillotine, if he be other than the one chosen by the Convention, will be a marked man. His life will not be worth twelve hours' purchase!"

"The guillotine? The guillotine?" De Batz retorted hotly. "Who talks of the guillotine and of Louis XVI in one breath? I tell you, man, that our King will never mount the steps of the guillotine. There are five hundred of us, worth a hundred thousand of Santerre's armed men, who will drag him out of the clutches of those assassins."

De Batz's plan doesn't work, it's no spoiler to tell you that. All five hundred of these men are known to have sympathy for the royalists and all five hundred of them are watched the next day until well after the king has made his last trip. Poor de Batz finds himself without anyone to help him make his brave move. But back to those men who had been reading and playing in the restaurant:

There was no look of despondency on their faces, rather the reverse, they looked eager and excited, and the back of the tall man in black with the broad shoulders and narrow hips suggested energy rather than dejection. After a time he turned away from the window and found a perch on the edge of a broken-down truckle bed that stood in a corner of the room.

"Well!" he began addressing the others collectively, "you heard what that madman said?"

"Most of it," one of them replied.

"He has a crack-brained scheme of stirring up five hundred madcaps into shouting and rushing the carriage in which the King will be driven from prison to the scaffold. Five hundred lunatics egged on by that candidate for Bedlam, trying to reach that carriage which will be escorted by eighty thousand armed men! It would be ludicrous if it were not so tragic."

"One wonders," remarked one of them, "who those wretched five hundred are."

"Young royalists," the other replied, "all of them known to the Committees. As a matter of fact, I happen to know that most of them, if not all, will receive a visit from the police during the early hours of the morning, and will not be allowed to leave their apartments till after the execution of the King."

These men sitting talking happen to be the "band" of the Scarlet Pimpernel:

Their chief was not in the habit of talking lengthily on any point. That he did so on this occasion was proof how keenly he felt about the whole thing. Did he wish to justify before these devoted followers of his, his inaction with regard to the condemned King? I do not think so. He was accustomed to blind obedience ­ that was indeed the factor that held the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel so indissolubly together ­ and three of the four men who were here with him to-day, Lord Anthony Dewhurst, Sir Andrew Ffoulkes and Lord Hastings, were his most enthusiastic followers.

This whole thing has given the Pimpernel band something to take care of and their leader tells them that they must rescue the Abbé Edgeworth who is a good man. And so the next day finds the men in the crowd, their leader tells them that once the King's head has fallen there will be an immense commotion for a few minutes and that will give them their chance of getting the Abbé away. Once they have him away they will take him to the Levet family, good friends of his who would be willing to help the old man. And this gets us to the Levets, who are so much more the center of the story then the king or de Batz ever were. And that's what they do, they manage to get the Abbé to the Levet's, but that puts them at risk, and then they get the Abbé away to La Rodière, where Madame la Marquis lives with her son, François de la Rodière, and daughter Cécile. Now they are in the book and we soon leave the king and the Abbé behind, well the Abbé is quickly moved on, so I guess he leaves us, and he leaves us with the de la Rodière family, and the Levet family, father, son and daughter, Blanche, and also Dr. Simon Pradel. We don't always have to deal with getting royalty out of the country, we also have love stories all messed up.

You see Blanche Levet is madly in love with Dr. Pradel, Dr. Pradel is madly in love with Cécile, her brother hates the doctor because he is in love with his sister and is beneath her, way beneath her and shouldn't even think of such a thing. Blanche hates Cécile you can figure out why all by yourself, and the doctor really cares for Blanche, but as a sister type of love. Then there is Louis Maurin, I can't stand this guy, if I could stand this guy there would be something wrong with me. He's a lawyer and he is madly in love with Blanche Levet. I wonder if anyone is ever in love with the same person who is in love with them at the same time. So far I don't see it happening. Maurin goes out of his way to make trouble for the Levets, like reporting them - secretly of course - as having a spy under their roof. That way he can come in while they are being arrested and get them out of trouble, then Blanche will be so very grateful to him. It works - kind of, she is grateful, but she is still in love with the doctor. They do all manage to end up in jail, so they should be moved pretty high up the list for the Scarlet Pimpernel. And that brings me back to the Pimpernel and his band, while all this is going on they are still going around planning, plotting, and carrying out their plans of saving those most in need of being saved.

One thing that had me puzzled and I wish I would have gone back to find the answer, it would have cleared up a big problem for me. That one thing is about a member of the Pimpernel band, Lord Devinne. This guy should not be a part of the group, but here he is. Why he would even want to do what they do I don't know, he certainly didn't seem to want to be there and certainly didn't want to take orders from anyone, even the Scarlet Pimpernel. The men in this group have to work together and have to trust each other, and Lord Devinne does neither and I would never have trusted him. So not only is he extremely grumpy the entire book, and that's putting it mildly, he is also, here's my confusing part, madly in love (yes again someone else is), with Cécile and does some pretty rotten things to make sure he is the one who ends up with the girl. Now, what I couldn't figure out was, how did a man who came into France with a bunch of other men in secret to save and smuggle people out of the country, have time to meet and fall in love with anyone? Especially so in love he is willing to do anything to get her for himself. So I finished the book with no answer to this question, I kept thinking it would enlighten me eventually, but as I closed the book I still didn't know, so I finally went back to the beginning and started looking, and finally in Chapter 3 I found this:

Lord Tony said, speaking to both the others:

"Do you trust that fellow Devinne?" and then added emphatically: "I do not."

My Lord Hastings shook his head thoughtfully.

"I wonder what is the matter with him."

"I can tell you that," Lord Tony observed. "He is in love with Mademoiselle de la Rodière. He met her in Paris five years ago, before all this revolutionary trouble had begun. Her mother and, of course, her brother won't hear of her marrying a foreigner, any more than a village doctor, and Devinne, you know, is a queer-tempered fellow. He cannot really look on that fellow Pradel as a serious rival, and yet, as you could see just now, he absolutely hates him and vents his spleen upon him. His attitude to the chief I call unpardonable. That is why I do not trust him."

Whereupon Sir Andrew murmured under his breath: "If we have a traitor in the camp, then God help the lot of us."

If I would have gone back to find that long before the end of the book I would have enjoyed it more, but as it is I still enjoyed it, I enjoyed it and I'm moving on to the next Pimpernel book in the series. I wonder whatever happened to the professor anyway? Happy reading.

[Eloise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually enjoyed this one more than The Scarlet Pimpernel! No annoying Marguerite, plenty of twists, turns, and developments. It felt a little longer and had a little more layers and depth, possibly because there were more characters.

It was nice to meet some of Sir Percy's band, and to see more of how they operate (I was almost hoping to see more of the planning and mission support). As in The Scarlet Pimpernel, the disguises are key to the plot and rescues, and it is fun to see Percy and the band transform over and over again, from professor to musicians to gendarmes... Impossible to read these books without suspending disbelief though; I'm sure their accents, mannerisms etc. would have given them away at some point... Not to mention the fact that Percy criss-crosses the country in record time. Finding fresh horses and not getting recognised at inns and so on must have been a nice challenge.

Orczy's tendency to come up with slightly exaggerated villains is somewhat tempered here by the jealousy angle provided by no less than two intersecting love triangles. But still, I find it a little hard to believe that Devinne would give up everything (his reputation and social relations) in England for a crush, however passionate. The men in her books have absolutely no understanding of women, it is almost comical how they think if they just get rid of other contenders, they will receive the girls' affections automatically. Orczy is very heavy handed and the fast, romping pace makes up for this to a certain extent, but I can never take her characters all that seriously because the lack of subtlety, realism and depth in characterisation.

[The Jesus Fandom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of fun, although the author throws in a bunch of new characters for me to care about. She made it work, but I still wished there was more of Percy. Also... his followers are a bit over the top in their loyalty sometimes. They needed to chill.

[Kimmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

"In the pursuit of his aims he had associated with potential assassins, as well as with misguided fools, and he had such a love of humanity that he had sometimes found it in his heart to sympathize with those whom misery and starvation had turned into criminals."

I love Sir Percy. He's smart, he's kind, he's loyal, and he's empathetic. Truly the whole package. Thank you, Baroness Orczy for creating the blueprint for the Superhero character with the female gaze in mind.

This was such a fun book. I wasn't sure how a follow up to The Scarlet Pimpernel would work, so I avoided the rest of the series for years. I'm so happy I gave it a try. This novel is so adventurous, funny, and entertaining. I love reading about the exploits of Percy and the League. They're such a fun group to read about (chapter 19, my beloved.) Their friendship and loyalty to each other and Percy is so beautiful, yet they still act like best friends, teasing and joking with each other. I could read on and on about them. (Not you, Devinne. Percy is better than me and I would've kicked you to the curb.) I did miss Marguerite in this book, but at least she was a mentioned a few times (I'm a huge Percy x Marguerite shipper and I devoured those crumbs!)

This book focuses on Percy saving the priest who was present for the former King's execution, as well as a family of aristos caught up in a web of messy love triangles where jealousy abounded. Even when the plot would focus on them for pages at a time before swinging back to Percy, I was actually still very entertained. I look forward to reading more Scarlet Pimpernel books.

[C.K. Heartwing · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't think you can ever go wrong with a Scarlet Pimpernel book. After reading The Scarlet Pimpernel and absolutely loving it, I knew I wanted to read more of this series! Sir Percy Leads the Band starts off in Paris and then soon shifts to a nearby small village, where a love triangle of sorts is playing out, but things soon involve The Scarlet Pimpernel and his League. And worse, there's a traitor in the League. As the story goes on, the different threads all weave together until at last reaching a very satisfying climax and a wonderful denouement. I won't give anything away, but I love how Sir Percy handled everything in the end. Another reason to love his character! If you have never read The Scarlet Pimpernel, give that one a read for sure! And if you have, then do continue on the series with Sir Percy Leads the Band. It's a wonderful, fun read, and I cannot wait to read the next in the series.

[Suzanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of many Scarlet Pimpernel sequels. It's chronologically the one after Scarlet Pimpernel, though it was written 9th (I think). I was actually a bit disappointed. A lot of what I loved about Scarlet Pimpernel was missing from this book. I like the adventure part and Percy's rescues but this book was just boring. I'm not sure if I'll continue on with any S.P. sequels. The original is definitely worth reading but so far, I'm not impressed with the sequels.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the plot and I liked how you got to know more characters in the League, but I wish that Marguerite had been in there more than a mention once or twice. I also liked that it followed other characters besides just Sir Percy and Marguerite.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just didn't live up to the original or even to the other one in the series I've read.

[allison riera :) · Rating 3 out of 5]

eh, ok. not as good as i remembered, lol. just lots of short stories.

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my third Scarlet Pimpernel book, and it was definitely the weakest. There is less of the League and, despite some promising developments early on, much less tension than in the two others (the original and The Elusive Pimpernel). The new characters are sympathetic but not particularly deeply drawn - especially not the females, unfortunately. Also, other than a few mentions, there's no Marguerite! Despite some of her eye-rolling behavior in the other books, the book is poorer without her. Not a lot of Chauvelin either, and we're denied any true showdowns or ultimatums between him and Percy. Demmed shame, as Percy would say!

However, the plot is still a rollicking one, full of double crosses and overwrought emotions, and moves along at a good clip. Baroness Orczy maintains her incisive style of both presenting and critiquing the violent hypocrisy of the French Revolution (which is worryingly resonant these days), filling what could otherwise be a frivolous story with a sobering cautionary tale about the wages of extremism, and how unfettered rebellion leads freedom fighters to become worse than the tyrants they overthrew.

And of course, the star of the show remains Percy. I can't do justice to Percy with words - he is one of the best-realized, most charismatic literary characters of all time. If you're not lured in by his inane laugh, lazy blue eyes, and impeccable sense of fashion, it's probably because you're in league with the Revolution. There's really no other explanation.

So, not the best Scarlet Pimpernel book, but still more entertaining than most of the drivel you could grab off the shelf!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the Scarlet Pimpernel books, and all the Baroness's delightfully purple prose in her description and emotive passages. It's fun to write in her voice too, in my own sequels to the series. This book is, I think, a great defining book of what was wrong in France which caused the revolution in the first place. The sneering, entitled bullying of Francois de la Rodiere, and his expectation that the doctor, on the edge of society, not the respected figure of a modern doctor, should put an aristo's horses over the needs of the peasants, plus his viciousness, is a picture of the sorts of aristos who should have been guillotined. And it shows that Percy can make mistakes, because bringing him out to satisfy the female de la Rodieres does not show the League capable of discrimination as to who are innocents. Also, the betrayal of Johnny Devinne, a young fool, in love with Cécile de La Rodiere, who loves Dr. Simon Pradel, is a well-drawn picture of the idiocies of young infatuation as well as showing that even the League can encounter problems when the exacting level of discipline and obedience demanded by the Chief breaks down due to human weakness. One of my favourites in the saga.

[Mandy Barber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went into this with the wrong impression, thinking it was the sequel to “The Scarlet Pimpernel” because of the chronological story timeline, but it was actually the second-to-last written/published book of the series, not intended to carry on the first novel’s plot. I was initially disappointed with this book due to my false expectations, but my opinion improved when I realized it wasn’t the sequel.
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The book started slow and didn’t feature much of Percy or the band for something titled “Sir Percy Leads the Band”, but the story finally picked up with intriguing conflicts and delved more into our main cast. Percy and his men disguised as incompetent vagabond musicians and having a blast the entire time is definitely a highlight, and of course it was great to see Chauvelin back at his antics and Percy irritating him at every turn.
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It took me a while to keep all the side characters and their relationships straight (basically a love triangle with five people), but I immensely enjoyed their plots. (In summary, Blanche is a brat, Pradel is great, Cecile is sweet, Maurin is hopeless, and Devinne is a pain.)
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Overall, this was a good story and a lot of fun!

[Julie Yates · Rating 3 out of 5]

You know my favourite motto, to take Chace by the one hair on his dead and force him to do my bidding.

A completely different plot set up then the other 2 Scarlet Pimpernel books I read, which may appeal to some but not me. The devious lawyer Maurin loves the frivolous Blanche Levet who loves the noble commoner Dr. Simon Pradel, who loves the aristocratic Cecile de la Rodiere, who is also loved by a member of Percy's band, the renegade St. John Devinne. So we have Maurin, Devinne and Blanche scheming against Pradel (who is unaware of their intent.) Meanwhile Cecile seems pretty much oblivious to both men. In the background is a rescued priest which brings the band to Choisy and gets the back stabbing rolling.

But I just didn't care. Which is unfortunate because this had many good parts: we see more interaction between Percy and his band of followers, we hear a bit about how he plans his amazing rescues, and there are like 3 rescues instead of only 1. But no interaction between Chauvlin and Percy, which I really missed! Also, Percy's lovely wife is missing so that was a bummer.

[Patience · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable addition to the scarlet pimpernel series!
I loved seeing the interaction between Percy and his men in this novel, a little peek into their league was fab.
The serious historical facts were a good addition but their were so many characters that I did get lost at moments over who they were and why they mattered.
We get more side characters perspectives than Percy, Andrew, and Tony’s thoughts but when they get their spotlight on the page they are golden, especially Percy.
Percy and Marguerite were separated in this book and I missed seeing them together so much!
I thought the epilogue was good though!

Giving it nice 3 stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I liked it a lot but there was a little bit left wanting.
However, I definitely want to read more in the series!
P.S.
We all love seeing Percy in his classic raggedy disguise but seeing him as an intelligent, genteel, perfect-french-speaking-professor was a fun addition to his character!

[Johnny Bennett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sir Percy Leads the Band is another adventure in preventing the French revolutionists from losing their heads. There is a convoluted love triangle and an overly adept hero but the story rolls on quite nicely. Though the story is about Sir Percy, it would be difficult to list him as the protagonist. The third person narrative frequently, almost intentionally doesn't follow Sir Percy. Instead the narrative surrounds this hero in a manner not dissimilar from his band of follows, always present yet somehow a little detached. It's a good story with a unique way of story telling that takes some understanding that this was written in a different time and in what today is almost a different language.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another charming adventure with Sir Percy...Seemed maybe more simplistic than other tales, and the repeated comparison of Devinne to Judas was annoying. Also disappointed that we did not get to see Pradel and Cecile come to a loving understanding (since Cecile did not seem to actually be in love with Pradel)-- Instead, we learn after the fact that they got married and lived happily ever after despite Cecile's obvious hesitation due to their class differences and not really knowing each other at all! Still, an enjoyable read.

[Julie MacKay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another book in the Scarlet Pimpernel books. We (the readers) know who the Scarlet Pimpernel is now, and he is in France again helping to rescue people from the guillotine. There is a traitor in the League who threatens to thwart the plans of the Scarlet Pimpernel. It is fun reading how the Scarlet Pimpernel manages to trick people in order to bring about his miraculous rescues of people. If you enjoyed the first book, The Scarlet Pimpernel, then I think you’d probably enjoy this book too.

[Helena · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good sequel, but not quite as exciting as the original. Percy doesn't feature too heavily and a lot of the plot relates to unrequited love between the side characters.

However, Devinne was a great character and the star of the show for me! No spoilers: but I loved his attitude, his plot and the final few lines of the book made me laugh/cringe, in a good way!!

I would definitely recommend this one. Apparently the sequels are hit and miss, I would say 'Sir Percy Leads The Band' falls somewhere in the middle. It's a good book, but not nearly as good as the original.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty good adventure novel. It’s very different from the first and is full of daring exploits, but I find myself missing Marguerite a lot. The epilogue really was spectacular though and I was consistently absorbed in the schemes of the pimpernel (even though they always seem to work out a bit too neatly). This book really made me love Percy, I really liked his character before but this one gives us a good sense of the type of person he is and what type of leader he is.

[Emilie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe it was because the version I read contained A LOT of typos, but I liked this a lot less than the first Scarlet Pimpernel book. The storyline was also more lackluster than the previous book. I didn't feel a strong connection to any of the characters this time, and it felt like a lot more of the same (not in a good way).

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this. I like the Scarlet Pimpernel novels even though I am generally not a fan of historical fiction. I would recommend this to anyone who liked the first book or similar stories. This book takes place in France in 1793. It follows multiple missions carried out by the Scarlet Pimpernel and his men. They save multiple people from execution.