The Baroness' usual blend of fact and fiction - the English priest brought in for the execution of Louis XVI is rescued by the League, and a tangle of love affairs lead to added complications for the Pimpernel. One of the 'traitor' stories - Percy, omniscient as he is, sees the betrayal coming, but is unbelievably patient and forgiving. He is described by the black sheep as an 'arrogant schoolmaster', which is about right. I enjoy reading about Percy and the League almost as much as I do Percy and Marguerite, and it's a mark of the Baroness' talent that both characters are effective and captivating as individual personalities, not merely a hero and his damsel or a heroine and her husband. Some secondary League members are featured - Jimmy 'Froggie' Holte, Tom Galveston, Everingham and Glynde, and of course St John Devinne; though not as deftly described as Percy or Chauvelin, the camaraderie between them is reassuring and fun at times. And poor old Chauvelin has a bad time of it in this adventure - I had visions of him spinning like a top in an effort to keep up with the Pimpernel, let alone one step ahead! Vastly entertaining. ( )

A priest, a baron, a doctor, a lawyer and the Scarlet Pimpernel walked into a bar. Ok, well, not really, but take those characters and a woman, throw in a love triangle, and you have the basics of this book.

That, and the execution of the king of France. Sir Percy's band has to sneak around in entertaining disguises and extricate most of the above from the problems they have gotten themselves into.

To make matters worse, Chauvelin has become interested.

Fun stuff.

http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0602...

http://superprose.blogspot.com/2007/0... ( )

http://regency-cate.livejournal.com/2...

'Percy, you are wonderful!' the young man exclaimed fervently.
'Tony, you are an idiot!' the other retorted with a laugh.

'Percy, you are wonderful!'
'Glynde, you are an ass'

Percy, you really need to learn to take a compliment.

The only complaint I have about this instalment of the Pimpernel is my usual one...not enough Marguerite. It's not quite enough to mention the poor woman pining away in London, and to let Percy's eyes become a little wistful. I love the books where she goes running into danger with a rashness that rivals her husband's.

Still, Percy is an acceptable substitute for Marguerite and, as usual, Orczy takes us on a merry romp through the countryside of France: not grand literature, but a better afternoon than many I've spent in a while.

I would also like to add that the list of talents possessed by League members never ceases to amaze me. Percy and Hastings play the fiddle, Tony's a drummer, Ffoulkes plays the trumpet. None of them play well, mind you, but they play. ( )