THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL by Baroness Orczy

One of my favourite movies of all time is the 1982 film of The Scarlet Pimpernel with Anthony Andrews in the title role - swoon, Jane Seymour as Marguerite St Just - more swoon, and Sir Ian McKellen as the villainous Chauvelin - oh so fabulous. The film won  an Emmy for outstanding costume design, and is a complete feast visually for this. The acting and the story line are totally over the top, making for a complete entertainment package of a romantic adventure that will whisk you away. I love it - watched it again while reading this. So been a long time coming in reading the book, and it is just as marvellous.

Even though the novels featuring the Scarlet Pimpernel, aka as Sir Percy Blakeney were written well over 100 years ago, this is easy to read, fast paced with a suave and dashing turn of phrase which although somewhat antiquated is delightful and funny to read, very old fashioned, but almost too as if the wonderful Baroness finds the whole premise ridiculous too.

It is 1792, the Reign of Terror is underway in Paris with Madame Guillotine working overtime slicing aristocratic heads from bodies. The Scarlet Pimpernel is a huge thorn in the side of Robespierre and his cronies, miraculously assisting in the escape of many of the aristocracy to the safety of England.  But how does he do it? Pierre Chauvelin has been given the unpleasant task of tracking down the elusive pimpernel, taking him back to Paris  for trial and public execution. But how elusive he is proving to be!

All the English men are dashingly handsome, exquisitely clothed,  manly and gentlemanly all at the same time; all the French men are villainous, dull, badly dressed, dirty and smelly; and all the women French or English could not be more feminine, beautiful, adored and so on. You get the drift. Wildly entertaining - if you love The Three Musketeers, you will love this.