The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel

The Scarlet Pimpernel (chronological order) #2.5

by Emmuska Orczy

The Age of Reason has come to France, bringing with it murder, cruelty, and terror. As the nation's aristocrats are paraded to the guillotine, their children are handed over to revolutionary citizens for reeducation. Once a courtier at Versailles, Madeleine Lannoy now dances in the street, clinging to life so that she may one day visit revenge on Jean Paul Marat, the tyrant who stole her son. Her cause is hopeless until she meets a dashing Englishman named Sir Percy Blakeney, better known by his secret identity--the Scarlet Pimpernel. In this electrifying installment in the world-famous historical suspense series, Sir Percy outwits bloodthirsty agents of the Terror time and time again. When the rest of Europe has turned its back on the French nobility, the Scarlet Pimpernel does not hesitate to risk his life for what is just.

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

Paperback

First published January 1, 1919

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

[Katja Labonté · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars & 4/10 hearts. It is hard to review these stories because I find they begin to blur together as I read more. They’re a bit sad and violent, but exciting and romantic and gripping, with forceful, descriptive writing. 

The host of characters crossing the pages is quite interesting. Some are pitiful, some sweet, some disgusting, some fascinating, some amusing. The Pimpernel is simply wonderful, and I loved seeing him interact so well with so many different people. And Chauvelin is so fun to be in the head of. ;) 

The plots are sometimes easy to figure out, sometimes quite puzzling and hard to decipher. Some are similar, some quite unusual. I love Madeleine Lannoy’s story, and Jean-Pierre’s, among others; and the story of Esther & Jack, and the traitor of a Lord… 

There is quite a bit of content (listed below) and what really bothered me was the lack of accents, turning some words into something totally different. (A cure is not the same as a curé, my friends!!) 

Overall, though, these stories are delightful and full of the Pimpernel flavour, and have me wanting more of the series. ;)

Content: Language (sometimes mild, sometimes blanked); woman dancing for entertainment; mention of a woman being coarsely insulted; passing mention of someone planning rape; lots of drinking; stealing, lying, breaking in; mention of praying to Mary; lots of drinking. List may be updated.

[Jayna Baas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed some of the short stories in this book, while others got a little…predictable. In such brief tales, it’s far too easy to see which person is actually the Scarlet Pimpernel, especially after he’s pulled the same stunt in three or four stories in a row. I guess short stories just don’t deliver the intricacy and complexity of longer stories. I was not so fond of the superstitious, supernatural feel several of these stories lent to Sir Percy’s adventures, and I really would have liked more scenes with him and his men as themselves, planning their next moves (I love watching Sir Andrew and Lord Tony and Sir Percy working in concert). It’s almost as if, now that we know who the Scarlet Pimpernel is, we don’t have to see him in his persona of Sir Percy—but his persona of Sir Percy is my favorite part. I did enjoy seeing some of the rescues from the perspectives of the rescued, and I liked how the last few stories tied together, with Sir Percy posing as the same person in each of them. All in all, not my favorite so far, but some enjoyable moments.

[Melinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Scarlet Pimpernel is both a flower of five crimson petals and an English Lord named Percy Blakeney, who uses that code name in France to smuggle aristocrats and their families away to safety from the French Revolution and the guillotine, into England. The first novel The Scarlet Pimpernel is considered a classic of page, stage and screen, even though originally, the play and book were produced by the Hungarian Baroness Orczy and her British husband. Publishers wouldn't publish the book; the critics hated it, yet the public loved both the play and the book. The charming, crafty Pimpernel outwitting the the bloodthirsty principals of the Revolution was high entertainment. So, the Scarlet Pimpernel series of books and movies began.

In this variant, instead of being independent and singlehandedly getting families and people out of France, the Scarlet Pimpernel has a league of English gentlemen he works with. The Scarlet Pimpernel is the head of the league, reporting to the Prince of Wales. He stays in France, switching between his many disguises and hideouts, finding aristos in need of export. The league works with him, helping fool the Committee for Safety in ingenious ways and smuggling people out of France.

These books are a series of vignettes where the Scarlet Pimpernel goes against Chauvelin, the head of the Committee for Safety - which controls the guards, the spies, the jails, the Surete and the guillotine. Years have passed since the Revolution and the riots, but the guillotine is still active full time. The Pimpernel is a now almost more a legend than a man to the Committee of Paris. The Pimpernel has made fools of them, and yet he is like a ghost; making aristos disappear from prison, guarded rooms and from ambushes. He can't be human, yet it keeps happening. To Chauvelin, he is public enemy number one.

In these eleven short stories, the Pimpernel is a combination of Sherlock Holmes, William Windham (his real life counterpart), John Steed and Michael Westin (without weapons). A master of disguise, strategy, tactics and human nature, he can bluff, confuse, misdirect and mislead the hordes of officials who are feverishly dreaming about his capture.

Each story is different and highly entertaining. Good for a quick, fun read. The older grammar and vocabulary is charming. I've never heard of a dirty old man described as indign in my life, but it happens here. Amazing...

Just so you know, the Scarlet Pimpernel theme:

We seek him here, We seek him there!
Chauvelin seeks him everywhere!
Is he in Heaven? Is he in H-'ll?
That demned, elusive Pimpernel

Highly Recommended for Historical and Holmes fans...

[Tricia Mingerink · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a lot longer to work through this one than it did the other ones. Mainly, I think, because I ran out of Librevox recordings done by Karen Savage (who is excellent) and the readers on this Librevox recording weren't all that great. It was done by several readers, and I just couldn't stand some of them.

This book is actually a collection of fairly long short stories about the Scarlet Pimpernel. They are all pretty much him easily out-smarting Chauvelin. They are just fun stories that really give a sense of what the Scarlet Pimpernel's day-to-day adventures in between his really big, hair-raising escapades that are in the other books. Because of that, these books have more of the rest of the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel, especially Andrew Fawkes, and Marguerite isn't in it besides a few references to her. I loved the dynamic between Fawkes and Sir Percy. In the other books, they aren't together much, and it is sometimes hard to see the closeness of their friendship. It comes out really clearly in these short stories how much Fawkes is his right hand man.

My favorite of these short stories was The Scarecrow. Absolutely hilarious at one point!

[Els · Rating 4 out of 5]

*sighs, shovels yet another book on the RTC pile *

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short stories, the only reason this book doesn't get my usual adoring five stars is it got kind of...predictable. While the costumes are truly genius and clever, it was always Percy. Eventually I grew somewhat bored. Every now and then a story would pop that would save it from three stars, and I would certainly reccomend it to Scarlet Pimpernel fans, but I wouldn't call it the best work of Orczy.

[Olivia Wetzel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how these books can be slightly long and yet read so well. This one is a collection of his adventures and I found it rather fun to guess all of the disguises (Although I was rarely correct). It is rather hard to say more without giving something away.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

The League of The Scarlet Pimpernel is/was a great book. There's no denying it that. It's a fantastic collection of short stories that leave me baffled in much the same way as Sherlock Holmes, not to mention that it has the same "air" to it, insane enemies, daring escapes, just about everything that could make a 93-year-old book entertaining.

The main character, whom the book is named after, is an alias assumed by Sir Percy Blakeney, a wealthy English gentleman, who seems to have a soft spot for interfering in the affairs of the insane French Revolutionaries. All of the stories included involve Sir Percy and his daring and fearless League rescuing various 'Aristocrats' or 'enemies of the Republic' from the clutches of the Committee of Public Safety, who are MUCH more menacing than the name leads on.

Summary : There are spoilers below: please be wary of the "view spoiler" buttons.

I - Sir Percy Explains ---------------------------------------

The first story of the eleven contained in this book, is Sir Percy Explains, which is ironic, because Sir Percy really doesn't do a whole lot of explaining. Madeleine Lannoy, who is labeled as an "aristo" by the Committee, is driven to becoming a street dancer in the worst neighborhoods of Paris after her only son is captured by the diabolical Jean Paul Marat, for "'daring to turn a deaf ear to the indign passion of a brute!(23)'" In modern English, Mrs. Lannoy rejected Marat, and he took revenge by kidnapping her son for him to live "'in the company of all that is most vile and most degraded in the disease-haunted slums of indigent Paris (22).'"

As she is performing, she asks for money. The crowd, for no apparent reason, begins to assault her, and after a brief altercation, it stops. Dazed, confused, and semi-conscious, she was then carried off. When she awakens, she is greeted by a tall man, who listens to her pitiful narrative, and then offers to assist her.

The story then turns to the house of Simmonne Evrard, (who is Marat's friend and house keeper) and more specifically to Paul Mole, a man whom the cook had "literally picked one day out of the gutter (35)." Paul was employed by the household, for his knowledge of herbs and medicine, as well as his ability to prepare the hot baths which eased the pain of Marat, who suffered from a dreadful skin disease. Seven days into his employment with Marat, Paul is asked to run an errand for his ill boss to the Chemin de Pantin, a children's home, where he will "have to go very circumspectly (39)" to "see a brat and report to [Marat] on his condition (40)." Marat suggests that it is best to do this in the night and dismisses Mole with a few pety errands. Paul spends the remainder of the day in the town, completing the errands and generally biding his time.

When he returned to the house, a large crowd had gathered, whispering of the assassination of Marat. It was whispered that he had been killed, in his bath of all places, and by a young girl of all people. Upon Marat's finger was a ring, that Marat himself has said to be not worth stealing. Something about it caught his eye, and seeing no one looking, Paul takes the ring from Marat's cold, dead hand. A random bystander accuses Mole of stealing from the dead, and after a vigorous search and paper-checking, Mole is found to be in order. Chauvelin, a member of the evil Committee of Public Safety, returns the papers to Mole, and is dumbfounded by a gaze at the face of Mole, who seems to remind him of someone... a certain English spy. Chauvelin orders his guard to arrest Mole and escort him to the prison, where Mole, is given his own private cell, complete with a 24-hour armed guard.

Marat's former cook and maid-of-all-work pays Chauvelin a visit to inform him about Marat's 'adopted' child. She tells him all she knows about the child, such as the child's 'care-takers', the Leridans. With the story of the stolen child pieced together in his mind, Chauvelin heads out to talk to the cowardly couple. The power of the Committee made Chauvelin a feared man, and the Leridans vowed that no one would see the child except the fiend himself as long as they would not be harmed. Chauvelin promised an armed guard of a dozen men around the house and left, with the Leridans felling quite safe.

Chauvelin then convinced the Public Prosecutor that the man in the cell was in fact the Pimpernel with a note containing an English rhyme and a five-petaled flower, drawn in scarlet. To finish his rounds, the Representative (Chauvelin) made his way to the prison to check up on Sir Percy, and to get one last look at him. In one fleeting glance, Chauvelin didn't see the merry eyes of the Englishman, but bleary fish-like ones. The man in the cell was not the Scarlet Pimpernel, but he dismissed the look as that of the exhausted and over-worked.

Satisfied, Chauvelin returns to the Leridans' house, where he finds the guards he had ordered. The woman Leridan then tells of how the soldiers had arrived three hours before Chauvelin had came to the house, while the soldiers say they arrived about two hours before the Citizen's arrival. The woman then let on about how the soldiers had gone to bed inside the house. Upon inspection, the rooms were empty, and the child of Madeliene Lannoy was nowhere to be found.

The Public Prosecutor heard a ring at the front door, which turned out to be a tall, well-dressed gentleman who requested conversation with the Prosecutor. Before he even knew what had happened, the visitor had gagged and bound him to a chair, and began to talk. He explains that there were two Paul Moles- one real and one fake. The fake one had befriended Marat and met Chauvelin, the fake one who had borrowed the original's papers, the fake one who had brought the real Paul Mole back to the house of Marat. But it was the real one who Chauvelin had arrested and imprisoned.

Later, while Chauvelin had left the Leridan's house, the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel had disguised themselves as members of the Surete, using their cover (and the Leridans' terror) to gain entry to the house, where they were given charge of the all-important child of Lannoy. When the couple went to sleep, the 'Surete' left with the child well before the real soldiers arrived.

"'My gallant English friends are some way out of Paris by now, escorting Madeliene Lannoy and her child to safety. They will return to Paris,... but I myself will remain... under your very nose, and entirely at your service (179)!'"

II - A Question of Passports ---------------------------------

Bibot was a patriot if there ever was one. He apparently hated aristocrats and the like so much, he was given the most important military post in the city of Paris, Porte Montmartre, which was also the most illegal traffic-heavy gate in the city. The last guard, Ferney, had let some traitors through the gate unaware of their identities, and was guillotined for his ignorance. Not too great of an impression to start your first day with: you fail, you die. But that wouldn't scare Bibot! No, "he feared no devil, nor any Englishman. Had the latter the strength of giants and the protection of every power of evil, Bibot was ready for him (187)."

To further stress the importance of this post, Jean Paul Marat himself gives Bibot his orientation. He even warns Bibot that the Scarlet Pimpernel is planning rescue the Duc and Duchesse de Montreux and ten of their closest friends from the Guillotine that night. "The two men sat in a tavern, opposite the gate of Montmartre, with a bottle of wine between them... (195)"

As they finished their business, a group of quite obviously drunken men approached the gate. The group's spokesman, identified as citizen Durand, told that they were "carriers for Legrand, the market gardener of Barency (205)", who apparently supplies Paris with cabbages and potatoes. After much insisting and a few demands, the group finally relinquished their passports for inspection, even though Bibot knew every man in the group. Relieved to see Marat still at the tavern, Bibot turns the passports over to Marat for the inspection. With everything found to be in order, the men are allowed to pass to pick up their deliveries for the next day.

A few minutes later, a man on horseback approaches, stating that "six men are wanted by the Committee of Public Safety. They are disguised as carriers in the employ of a market gardener, and have passports for Barency!... The passports are stolen: the men are traitors-escaped aristocrats-and their spokesman is(...) the Scarlet Pimpernel (211)."

Bibot then proceded to faint.

III - Two Good Patriots --------------------------------------

This is probably the shortest of the short stories, weighing in at only 19 iBooks pages, and is told from the perspective of Fanny Roussell, a "respectable married woman, and as good of a patriot as any of you sitting there (224-225)." She and her husband are being sent to the guillotine for being accused of housing and aiding the Scarlet Pimpernel.

The house in which the couple lived was too far away from the port to attract travellers, so the only time the house was crowded was mid-day, when people would stop in on the way to or from port. One day, as the husband was putting up the shutters, someone came up to the house and knocked on the door. It was a soldier, the same that patrols that area. He and his men wanted food and rest, but made an odd request for lodgings. They desired a place where they could "lie hidden, and at the same time keep watch on the road (230)." They took an outhouse that was on the property.

The one in charge asserts that they are on the watch for the Scaret Pimpernel, who is going to Calais, the port, escorting an 'aristo', and that they will be the ones to catch him. Feeling vaguely suspicious, the husband, Hercule, left the house out the back door, and started the nine-mile hike to Calais, where he would alert the guard. Just as he left, a group of soldiers challenged him. They asked about a group of four soldiers (the same ones who were in the outhouse).

Hercule pointed the way to the outhouse, and after a brief fight, the traitors in the outhouse were subdued. The victors returned, and the couple became very suspicious. They had a right to be, as they wer bound and gagged until the maid released them the following morning. The soldiers in the outhouse were found, bound and gagged, some wounded.

The couple was arrested later in the day for aiding the Scarlet Pimpernel and his men. Ah, revolutionary France...

IV - The Old Scarecrow --------------------------------------

"Nobody in the quartier could quite recollect when it was that the new Public Letter-Writer first set up business at [the corner] of the Rue Dauphine, but he certainly was there... when Agnes... with a look of dreary despair (244-245)" came into the Lepine's 'office'.

"'They say, citizen, that you alone in Paris know the whereabouts of the English milor'- of him who is called the Scarlet Pimpernel (251).... I know that you [are] the intermediary (253).'"

Agnes confides that she is in great danger. "She was of gentle birth, and as such an object of suspicion to the Government of the Republic (255)..." The two decide that it is best to write a letter to the Pimpernel as quickly as possible. Anges then mentions that she recieved a letter from Heriot, a vile member of the Committee, who passionately hates Agnes' fiancee, and says that he loves her. It then says that Heriot has more than enough evidence to send Agnes' fiancee to the guillotine, and that the only way to let her fiancee go free is to marry Heriot!

Lepine visits Heriot at his home, and offers to pay him 2,000 francs for the incriminating letters. Outraged, Heriot denies that he would accept 200,000 francs for the evidence.

"'Agnes de Lucines will be [Heriot's] wife within the month, or Arnould Fabrice's head will fall under the guillotine, and you, my interfering friend, (Lepine) may go to the devil, if you please (274).'"

Lepine promises Heriot that neither of his friends will fall to his scheme, and when Heriot doesn't believe it, Lepine gives him a brief glimpse of the Scarlet Pimpernel, with an immensely powerful "I will 277).

Sir Percy later meets with his friend Ffoulkes, to discuss another way to get the letters.

"'House-breaking, you mean?'" (Ffoulkes)
"'Petty theft, shall we say?'" (Sir Percy) (283)

They would bribe the housekeeper to let them in, take the letters, and leave. They gained entry to the rooms without any problems, paying the housekeeper in gold coins. Ffoulkes picked open a chest which contained the letters they desired, when Percy heard a concerning noise: "'Three men coming up the stairs. They are on the landing now (295)." The two burglars quickly replace the contents of the chest, and find a hiding place behind some curtains.

Heriot brought home a few of his friends that he plays cards and dominoes with, and dismisses himself to write a letter. As Percy and Ffoulkes were hiding in the same room as Heriot was writing, this made it extremely easy for them to smother, gag, and bind Heriot in his chair, so no alarm would be raised. Percy, imitating Heriot, called for the housekeeper, whom they bound and gagged also.

Adapting disguises of Heriot and the housekeeper, Percy and Ffoulkes attempt to stealthily exit the house, but are compromised when one of the men realizes that Heriot is not Heriot! After a brief chase, Percy locks the men inside Heriot's apartments, and procedes without a problem down the street with the letters.

Agnes later recieves the letters of question, and rushes to thank Lepine, who must've been involved.

But he was nowhere to be found.

V - A Fine Bit of Work --------------------------------------

The Lenegre family is in a bit of a predicament. The son, Pierre, was a footman in the house of Marie Antoinette. "His crime had been that he remained loyal to her in words as well as in thought (319)." The Committee of Public Safety had marked him as a person of interest (in other words, he was dead to them.). He would've been beheaded, if not for the Pimpernel and his League of valiant gentlemen. The father, Pere, is then suspected because of his son's escape from "justice".

Percy, who visits the house, gave Pere the order to hide in a violin maker's house, where he would be safe. As if the stress of hiding Pere wasn't enough, the women of the house, petite maman (the mother) and Rosette (the daughter) were horribly worried that Sir Percy himself was in danger.

French guards are dispatched and secure the house, and questioned the women to the breaking point. After receiving insistent answers of "no, he's not here", the guards turned the little house upside-down looking for places that could hide a man, but to no avail.

Much later, after a long time in silence, a knock on the door brings Rouget, a harsh member of the Committee of Public Safety. He abuses the sergeant in the house, and then commands the sergeant to search the whole building for Pere and Sir Percy. Petite maman then made the decision to give up her husband's location in exchange for her and her daughter's safety.

She lead the soldiers to the Rue Ste. Anne, where they found the wardrobe in which Pere was to be hiding in. Just before they opened it, however, the Scarlet Pimpernel made his presence known, which paralyzed the genuine French soldiers in the room. Rouget's men then proceeded to bind and gag the real Republicans. Rouget tore a wig and mask off, to reveal himself as Sir Percy.

The Lenegre family would be united in England, safe from the threats of the French Revolution.

(What would be XII) - Conclusion -----------------------------

(and yes, I did skip the remainder of the stories. THANK YOU MR. VAWTER. They wouldn't fit in the 20,000 character limit, anyway.)

The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel was a fantastic book/collection of short stories, and I'm really glad that I decided to read it. Throughout the book, there's the constant theme of Good V.S. Evil, which almost always boils down to the Scarlet Pimpernel (good) V.S. the government of France (evil). In the first, second, fourth, fifth, sixth,... you get the idea, this was the case, albeit in various forms, throughout all of the stories, except the third, where the Pimpernel was more the villain, and the Roussells as the 'good' side, or at least it was portrayed that way.

The whole bit about the theme wasn't that surprising to me, as most of the books from this era seem to have that system down, (I'm looking at you, Holmes!) and the spy part of the stories seem to be popular in that time, as Holmes did quite a bit of spying in his adventures, too.

This was a very good book/story collection/iBook/whatever you want to call it, but for the price of $0.00, this book was excellent. A great prelude to the original Scarlet Pimpernel, I thank my English teacher for recommending it, and copyright laws for making this the best free book I've ever read.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Several short stories about the Scarlet Pimpernel and his men. But mostly about the Scarlet Pimpernel. It was pretty good. Much less personal drama, but also not as much to get invested in. It's hard to rate 10 stories as one work, so I'll let you read it and decide for yourself.

[booklady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Series of short stories all involving the exploits of Sir Percy Blakeney, the famous Scarlet Pimpernel.

[Jim Puskas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Despite having published a dozen novels based on the exploits of her fanciful "Pimpernel" character, Orczy still chose to pen a set of short stories on the same theme. Whatever charm and entertainment may have brightened her original works certainly had grown stale by the time this collection was written. The plots are so patently absurd and the social commentary so one-sided as to overwhelm any sense of adventure left in the stories.
The wretched excesses, corruption, venality and mindless brutality of the men who quickly turned the French Revolution into their own blood-soaked orgy is well known; but I found myself gagging on Orczy's wistful admiration of the old aristocracy whose abuses triggered the whole mess in the first place. Pimpernel and his minions have long outstayed their welcome.

[H.Friedmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

A series of short stories about the exploits of the Scarlet Pimpernel. Entertaining, but much the same as the others. My favorite was one told from the perspective of a third party. Orczy did a good job of making the stories build on each other. You learn an identity in one story, and that knowledge is key in the next. Made it feel more like reading a novel instead of a series of short stories. I have to admit that I have grown out of the Scarlet Pimpernel a little bit. They were something I loved in my tweens, but now it's a bit repetitive. However it's taken until now to find some of the novels. You know over the years I've sought him here, I've sought him there, this reader's sought him everywhere. :)

[Eloise · Rating 3 out of 5]

My wish has been answered - this book contains short Scarlet Pimpernel stories which show the workings of the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel, and a few examples of successful rescue missions. Some are more entertaining than others, but altogether they are fine. Very typical of Orczy's style, to the extent that I got a little bored by the end. The plots and twists are all similar: Sir Percy always saves the day, by using various disguises which always include one very grimy one and one in which he impersonates the authorities to intercept the person he is about to save from imprisonment and death. Orczy does play around with different narrators and points of vue, but that doesn't really make much of a difference.

[Katherine B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a fun little series of shorts! I'm not usually a fan of short stories, but when I already have some knowledge of the characters and I can just enjoy them instead of struggling to keep up with the events that are always happening so quickly, I do like them. And that's what this was. It was our darling Scarlet Pimpernel getting up to mischief and Chauvelin and other French Revolutionaries trying to catch him. That's really all it was. But oh, it is so much fun to see Chauvelin get beat over and over again.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book takes place during the Reign of Terror in France. While the Committee of Public Safty is working to guillotine supporters of the aristocracy, the Scarlet Pimpernel and his associates are working even harder to save them and spirit them out of France to safety in England. Although the book becomes somewhat repetitious, I did enjoy it and would recommend it.

[John Yelverton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of short stories that highlight the wit and numerous disguises of the Scarlet Pimpernel. A must read for those who cannot get enough of this hero.

[Diletta Nicastro · Rating 4 out of 5]

'La Lega della Primula Rossa' è il sesto capitolo della celebre saga sulla Primula Rossa, scritta dalla Baronessa Emma Orczy ad inizio Novecento e il primo ad essere una raccolta di racconti (temporalmente le 11 avventure si svolgono tutte nel 1793, tra poco prima e poco dopo de 'La sposa di Lord Antonio').
Vi ho ritrovato lo stile straordinario della Baronessa, riscontrato in tutti i libri che ho letto finora, ed ho constatato come in definitiva si tratta sì di racconti, ma ha anche un suo filo conduttore, tratteggiando tra l’altro con vivida arguzia situazioni storiche assai note (come spessissimo fa la scrittrice, miscelando finzione e realtà con una maestria da brividi).

In tutti i racconti si evidenziano i lasciapassare necessari per entrare o uscire da Parigi, le delazioni fatte per principio o per paura, le restrizioni di giorno in giorno sempre più stringendo, toccando piano piano tutti, anche coloro che in principio si credevano al sicuro.
Una frase mi ha colpito molto, inserita nel racconto 'Una lotta di astuzia': “Nessuno osava protestare contro quei soprusi, ai quali dei pacifici cittadini dovevano sottostare in seguito alla semplice denunzia di un modestissimo agente di polizia. In quei giorni, ogni decreto, ogni ordine, doveva essere accettato senza lamenti”. (pag. 295)
La Storia che dovrebbe insegnare, ma che viene dimenticata.

Complessivamente si tratta di una raccolta molto interessante, che avrei letto anche più velocemente, ma di cui ho rallentato la lettura per gustare non più di un racconto a sera. Consigliato vivamente a tutti gli appassionati della saga (tra i personaggi che tornano ci sono Lord Antony Dewhurst, protagonista de 'La sposa di Lord Antonio', e Sir Andrew Ffoulkes, il miglior amico di Sir Percy e tra i protagonisti, tra gli altri, proprio de 'La Primula Rossa').

Per la recensione completa visita il mio blog:
https://dilettanicastro.blogspot.com/...

[Thor The Redbeard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sir Percy Explains 7/10
A Question of Passports 6/10
Two Good Patriots 5/10
The Old Scarecrow 6/10
A Fine Bit of Work 5/10
How Jean-Pierre Met the Scarlet Pimpernel 4/10
Out of the Jaws of Death 5/10
The Traitor 6/10
The Cabaret de la Liberté 5/10
Needs Must— 7/10
A Battle of Wits 6/10

Overall 6/10

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Outfoxing Chauvelin during the French Revolution

The Scarlet Pimpernel is both a flower of five crimson petals and an English Lord named Percy Blakeney, who uses that code name in France to smuggle aristocrats and their families away to safety from the French Revolution and the guillotine, into England. The first novel The Scarlet Pimpernel is considered a classic of page, stage and screen, even though originally, the play and book were produced by the Hungarian Baroness Orczy and her British husband. Publishers wouldn't publish the book; the critics hated it, yet the public loved both the play and the book. The charming, crafty Pimpernel outwitting the the bloodthirsty principals of the Revolution was high entertainment. So, the Scarlet Pimpernel series of books and movies began.

In this variant, instead of being independent and singlehandedly getting families and people out of France, the Scarlet Pimpernel has a league of English gentlemen he works with. The Scarlet Pimpernel is the head of the league, reporting to the Prince of Wales. He stays in France, switching between his many disguises and hideouts, finding aristos in need of export. The league works with him, helping fool the Committee for Safety in ingenious ways and smuggling people out of France.

These books are a series of vignettes where the Scarlet Pimpernel goes against Chauvelin, the head of the Committee for Safety - which controls the guards, the spies, the jails, the Surete and the guillotine. Years have passed since the Revolution and the riots, but the guillotine is still active full time. The Pimpernel is a now almost more a legend than a man to the Committee of Paris. The Pimpernel has made fools of them, and yet he is like a ghost; making aristos disappear from prison, guarded rooms and from ambushes. He can't be human, yet it keeps happening. To Chauvelin, he is public enemy number one.

In these eleven short stories, the Pimpernel is a combination of Sherlock Holmes, William Windham (his real life counterpart), John Steed and Michael Westin (without weapons). A master of disguise, strategy, tactics and human nature, he can bluff, confuse, misdirect and mislead the hordes of officials who are feverishly dreaming about his capture.

Each story is different and highly entertaining. Good for a quick, fun read. The older grammar and vocabulary is charming. I've never heard of a dirty old man described as indign in my life, but it happens here. Amazing...

Just so you know, the Scarlet Pimpernel theme:

We seek him here, We seek him there!
Chauvelin seeks him everywhere!
Is he in Heaven? Is he in H-'ll?
That demned, elusive Pimpernel

Highly Recommended for Historical and Holmes fans...

[dragonhelmuk]

I didn't like this quite as much as the first book I'm afraid, but it was quite well written in places. It also brings to mind Objectivism quite strongly in some places! Three quotes:

(Baronness Orczy gives a rare depiction of a girl who dances on the streets as dejected instead of sexy. I think this would have been much easier for people of the time with a class consciousness to understand, than today, where a gender consciousness seems to have completely taken hold.)
a woman almost unsexed by misery, starvation, and the abnormal excitement engendered by daily spectacles of revenge and of cruelty. They were to be met with every day, round every street corner, these harridans, more terrible far than were the men. This one was still comparatively young, thirty at most; would have been good-looking too, for the features were really delicate, the nose chiselled, the brow straight, the chin round and small. But the mouth! Heavens, what a mouth! Hard and cruel and thin-lipped; and those eyes! sunken and rimmed with purple; eyes that told tales of sorrow and, yes! of degradation. The crowd stood round her, sullen and apathetic; poor, miserable wretches like herself, staring at her antics with lack-lustre eyes and an ever-recurrent contemptuous shrug of the shoulders. The woman was dancing, contorting her body in the small circle of light formed by a flickering lanthorn which was hung across the street from house to house, striking the muddy pavement with her shoeless feet, all to the sound of a be-ribboned tambourine which she struck now and again with her small, grimy hand. From time to time she paused,

(Someone who refuses to submit to the wishes of a villain just because they threaten harm - I'm sure the objectivists would love the Baroness)
he chooses to declare that it is I who, by rejecting his love, drove him to these foul extremities. May God forgive him that abominable lie! The evil we do, Monsieur, is within us; it does not come from circumstance.

(Perhaps this book is now a little bit out of its time...)
Esther was no fool, nor was she unsophisticated. These were not times when it was possible for any girl, however carefully nurtured and tenderly brought up, to remain ignorant of the realities and the brutalities of life. Even before Merri had put his abominable proposition before her, she knew what he was driving at. Marriage— marriage to him! that ignoble wretch, more vile than any dumb creature! In exchange for her life!

[Perry Whitford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eleven short stories featuring that 'demmed, elusive Pimpernel' and friends, donning disguises and saving aristocrats from Madam Guillotine and those supplying her with heads.

Always on the look out for the insouciant Englishman are the rabble of the sans-culottes, the Committee of Public Safety, and that blood-thirsty organizations wiliest official, citizen Chauvelin.

Unfortunately, Sir Percy's arch-enemy and principle dupe only appears in three of the tales, the first one and the final two. In that opening story, Orczy rather cleverly places her hero at the side of the bath immediately following the murder of Jean Paul Marat.

Other highlights include a brief appearance from Robespierre, a couple of first-person narratives from those hoodwinked by the Pimpernel at close quarters, and a trio of stories to round things up where the master of disguise coughs and splutters about as a consumptive old codger called Rateau.

No great shakes, but it's hard not to enjoy Orczy's zesty style and the blurted oaths of those befuddled by the Pimpernel.
"Name of a dog!

[India Braver · Rating 3 out of 5]

This entire book (which you should only read if you read The Scarlet Pimpernel first) is basically an extended roadrunner-coyote sequence. Sir Percy doesn't seem as clever in this sequel tho, and Marguerite is hardly a character. Some cool things happen (like they allude to famous historical events and put them into the context by which English aristocrats viewed stuff, as opposed to history books that focus on the French citizen's point of view), but overall, this book is 1) very repetitive and 2) very episodic in a sense- it is as if every chapter is a new episode of a tv show and only barely ties back to the main plot until the end, altho it could be argued that there isn't really a main plot. If you like lots of quick action scenes, this book definitely has a lot more of them than The Scarlet Pimpernel; it has a lot less character development though!

[Kimmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a delightful collection of short stories. I had fun with all of them. My favorites were "Sir Percy Explains" and "The Old Scarecrow". I love it when Percy outsmarts and embarrasses Chauvelin, for its especially funny every time. I also love it when we get to see Percy interact with his League members, something I do wish we'd gotten more from in these stories. While reading these all at once does make the format slightly repetitive, it's still rather fun to know what to expect from each story. I enjoyed spotting Percy and eagerly waiting for the reveal of how he outsmarted the bad guys every time. The amount of stories here once again makes me wish for a new TV adaptation where we could see Percy and his friends (and hopefully Marguerite) go on adventures where they save people and look good doing it.

[Cedar Lea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, this was an interesting compilation of stories about the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel, a band of Englishmen who rescued aristocrats and other unfortunate souls who were destined for the guillotine during the French Revolution.

I really enjoyed reading this book as I started, but about halfway through, my interest started to wane a bit. The stories become a bit repetitive - they all can be summarized to have a similar plot. There is some unfortunate soul being terrorized by the Committee of Public Safety. All seems to be lost, until the Scarlet Pimpernel comes up with an elaborate plan to rescue them, always using some form of disguise to trick the villains and rescue the victims. I pretty much skimmed the second half of the book. :)

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s rip roaring as a style - I enjoy the style: “the air was heavy with steam and a medley of evil smelling fumes, which hung in the close atmosphere of the room”

The first stories: Sir Percy Explains; A Question of Passports; build the sense of his superhero nature. Because we only hear of him. See his feats from afar, from him being not there- the entire premise is made real by his absence and the focus on the frustration of those chasing him, and the gratitude of those he helps. You almost get a sense of V from V for Vendetta.

When he is finally introduced he is the quintessential Englishman with his friend. Dry sardonic and smarter but also bigger, better in every way. But also full of humour - he laughs freely - he is without fear and this superhero you can see brings comfort

[Bethany · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this has some fun, short adventures of The Scarlet Pimpernel, it's a little predictable at times and a little repetitive. The best parts of the series are seeing the inner workings with Marguerite, the League and Percy himself and this one is almost entirely from the perspectives of those being rescued, which is fun but it's lower on the totem pole. Also, they throw around his name and face WAY too frivolously in this book! In the first 1, the 3 people that he rescued had no idea who he was and didn't even recognize him or his name when he walked into the hotel 30 minutes after dinner; so I think that part of the secrecy plot just got a little sloppy. But it was a fun set of adventures.

[Surreysmum · Rating 3 out of 5]

[These notes were made in 1985:]. A series of short stories - perhaps novel ideas which didn't seem capable of bearing the full treatment. The formulas become very clear in these compressed versions of the usual story. We have several instances of the SP and his gang masquerading as Republican law officers and thus forestalling the real arrests. We have at least one 'traitor in the band' story (not nearly as interesting as the novel-length one). But it's not a bad read, and a certain variety is introduced by the use of a couple of different narrative voices - a "deposition" by a citizeness duped by the SP; a first-person narrative by one of his escaped "clients."

[LMS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Her longer novels have more tension and more drama (the night on the cliff in Scarlet Pimpernel, the “duel” in Elusive Pimpernel, the prison scenes in Eldorado) but for straightforward daring last minute guillotine escape stories, this is the book. Every short story is a little mystery: which long-legged, gaunt, “miserable creature” will turn out to have been Sir Percy Blakeney, Baronet all along? Usually it’s not hard to guess. But if you’re looking for purehearted romantic adventure, where the bad guys are really bad, the innocents are really innocent, and the heroes are kind, merry, and strong, you can’t beat this series.

[Tosin · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a bunch of short stories that each have the Scarlet Pimpernel. It gave you the perspective of the other characters , as you read from the eyes of an unfortunate escapee, citizens of France, the investigators, even members of the Liberation. You got to understand more of how TSP made his moves while he was in France, and why each ruse was more ingenious than the last. If you are reading the entire series, it's well worth it. Each of the 10 short stories gives you a better grasp on the entire series as a whole. I enjoyed it, and was able to suss out TSP each time. The Greatest escapades are in the smallest details.

[Ela · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of short stories telling the various adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel and his League. Overall a very nice read though the themes in the stories quickly get repetitive. Funny thing is that some of the stories had much better plot than the (chronologically) previous book Sir Percy Leads the Band. Chauvelin appears two or three times and Marquerite has a very small cameo in one of the stories.