Robespierre is overthrown, and the Pimpernel saves his lady again. ( )

Disappointing - the plot is thin, there's no character development and irritatingly, the women swoon at the slightest provocation. Unless you're a die-hard fan of the series, I wouldn't recommend this. ( )

One of the weaker entries in the series. By this point the device of setting a trap for Percy by using Marguerite as a hostage has gotten rather stale. Furthermore, it's unclear why Chauvelin was set on using Theresia Cabarrus to capture the Pimpernel before the rescue of Bertrand. Chauvelin, knowing the identity of the Pimpernel and his devotion to his wife, should know that Percy will not fall at the feet of Theresia Cabarrus. Aside from being a second pair of sharp eyes who will know the Pimpernel's identity once Chauvelin reveals it to her, her primary usefulness seems to be her sway over Bertrand- but Chauvelin was planning to use her before Bertrand was in England and could be used as a tool there. But this was also the book in which the Baroness gets Chauvelin's hair color wrong, so it's clearly at least a little phoned in. Still, it features some good confrontations between Percy and Chauvelin when the overused and under-reasoned bits are out of the way. ( )

Placed last in the series of the Scarlet Pimpernel sequels because the story covers the events of July 1794, but written mid-sequence by Orczy, who obviously couldn't resist adding more adventures about her hero! 'Sir Percy Hits Back', about Chauvelin's daughter, 'Sir Percy Leads the Band' and 'Mam'zelle Guillotine' all followed after this natural conclusion.

Although this is still an entertaining novel, and an important marker in the corpus, it isn't one of my favourites. The main characters seem to be merely going through the paces, and the writing is melodramatic rather than evocative. Poor Chauvelin is suffering from monomania and suddenly old and haggard beyond his years; Marguerite is resigned and redundant, having learned nothing from what happened in Boulogne; and Sir Percy has one or two witty verbal duels with Theresia and Chauvelin, earns a painful and permanent souvenir of his mad career in Paris, but is mostly preoccupied with manipulating historical events and personages.

Always a font of educational titbits, Orczy never fails to bring the cast of the Revolution to life. Students and apologists of Robespierre will no doubt be annoyed by her stock portrayal of the Incorruptible, but I found the life of Theresia Cabarrus, who did indeed marry Tallien and rule post-Thermidor Paris for a while, fascinating. She is a playful diva in Orczy's imaginings, collecting the hearts of devoted swains as her due, but falling under the spell of the Pimpernel, and an ambitious beauty in real life.

If nothing else, 'Triumph' can be read as a lively introduction to the downfall of Robespierre and the Revolution, and the final chapter of Sir Percy's dual life as the Pimpernel. Hopefully he retires after this, and spends the rest of his life trying to make amends with Margot for the stress and danger she constantly suffers! ( )