Reviews

Amazing. Short, sweet, suspensful, I was yearning for resolution early on, and happily received it at the end. I highly recommend this!

A friend of mine recommended it to me years ago, and I only just got around to reading it. The Scarlet Pimpernel is entirely underrated.

Things I liked:

*It's the perfect length, meaning that it's very short.
*The plot plays out in a way that allows the reader to guess and sometimes be right!
*Yet there are still plot twists that I never saw coming.
*The book looks into the character of a person.

Things I disliked:
*The main characters are very rich, which I only am mentioning because there has to be something that you dislike!

robertwhelan's review against another edition

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3.0

Very predictable swashbuckler but not bad for all that. The introduction by Hilary Mantel was a bemusing choice as she clearly despised the book.

samkb's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

alikenzie's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

nickdablin's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I'm torn on this novel. On the one hand, it was a fast-paced, exciting adventure story with plenty of twists and turns, high stakes and genuine tension. The setting and political background add weight and interest to the tale, and the cast is full of bold, fun archetypes. On the other hand, the moment-to-moment craft of the writing was often poor - repetitive, unnecessary over-description, excessively florid, overwrought dialogue rendered stilted by criminal adverb overuse, and there's an antisemetic streak running through the climax of the novel that leaves a sour taste to an otherwise thrilling conclusion. There's a lot of "tell" rather than "show", which leads to some jarring contradictions. For example, the heroine is constantly described as being the cleverest woman in Europe, yet the plot dictates that she acts incredibly stupid for most of the novel's length, often conveniently forgetting things to build artificial tension. The central mystery is so immediately obvious and easily guessed that the build-up to the reveal falls flat and just feels tediously drawn out.
Nonetheless, there's a heightened realism and theatricality to everything that can excuse some of the cruder brush strokes, and I had a good time with the book in spite of it's flaws.

rosekk's review against another edition

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5.0

This was a really fun, uplifting adventure. Occasionally it dwells to long on the 'moral agonies' the heroine suffers, and reminds the audience too often of the dangers the main characters are in should the plan of the moment fail, but all that can be easily forgiven as it doesn't occur that often, and is embedded in an exciting story. It's a bit quaint relative to the equivalent adventure stories around today, but I think it still holds up.

finitha's review against another edition

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4.0

Well, its a short, cozy book with some mystery and romance. Some of my great hopes regarding this was crushed on reading, as the characters were not completely developed and the author's constant ramblings on the virtues of aristocracy seemed to have got on my nerves.
More than a critique on the Reign of Terror, the story tends to focus on the nobleness of English gentlemen who daring their lives try to save the French aristocrats from guillotine and conveniently forgets that British also had their fair share of savagery when they beheaded King Charles I. And thinking of the cruelties they meted out to Scots and Irish, I doubt whether they have the right to condemn the French. But keeping this political prejudices apart, this is an altogether nice read you can finish very easily.
If you want to know the summary, please follow this link:
http://finithajose.blogspot.in/2015/04/the-scarlet-pimpernel-baroness-emma.html

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