I struggled whether to give this book, 3 1/2 or 4 stars, and in the end settled with 4. For being a romance novel, the Scarlet Pimpernel was a pretty good read. The character development was strong and the plot moved at a fairly quick pace. The only thing that would keep me from giving this book a perfect score is its predictability. Intensity had a hard time building up because of how obvious a coming plot turn was going to be. ( )

eh, it was an okay read. Because the book is based on a play, it reads kind of like a play - very few settings that are "on the road" or such. ( )

How this book wound up in the Folio Society's catalogue is beyond me. This childish (not child-like) book adopts an inanely simple viewpoint on the French Revolution, altering facts and faces as it sees fit in the interests of the, ahem, "plot". Said plot is burdened with various ludicrous devices, contradictions, and a dramatis personae with an average (or is it total?) IQ of under 100. The writer, we learn, was Hungarian nobility, transplanted to England and burdened with excess admiration of all things upper class. The sin is compounded with appalling racism directed at, amongst others, Jews and Frenchmen.
Not content with one go at the genre, she spent the rest of her sorry career writing more in the life of the Pimpernel. Fortunately, we are forewarned by an introduction that is not kind to the author. ( )

I really enjoyed listening to the audio version of this book - great story - no wonder it's such a classic!

http://ktleyed.blogspot.com/2009/10/s... ( )

If you are older and like detailed books then this would be for you, I did not like this because I am a bad age to read it. This is a action/mystery/suspense book about a man who saves nobles from the french revolution's guillotene. ( )