| The Scarlet Pimpernel | Puffin Books |
| Written by Baroness Orczy | 1905 |
| Historical Fiction | 323 pages |
| Reading Level ages 12-14 | |
Summary
Aristocrats are lined up to face Madame Guillotine. The Citizens all wear red caps and demand more and more heads to roll for their bloody revolution. There is a mysterious Englishman that saves them through disguise and cover of night. His is known only as the Scarlet Pimpernel, a small red flower that is common along the waysides. All of England and France are talking about him, for different reasons. Sir Andrew escorted Madame la Comtesse and her children into an inn when Marguerite, star French actress and recently married to Sir Percy Blakney, entered. She unwittingly sent an entire family to the guillotine because she spoke to some she thought as confidants who condemned the family. Sir Percy is a fop and only cares for the latest fashion and repartees. Marguerite can’t see the man she married in the shallow man and can’t hold back her biting comments that don’t faze him, if he understood them at all. A government agent, Chauvelin comes to Marguerite with information on her brother’s association with the Scarlet Pimpernel, blackmailing her. He forces her to use her status as Percy’s wife to spy on the English lords to find the Scarlet Pimpernel, who had become a nuisance and a rallying image for the aristocrats, stealing more and more heads from the chopping block. She recovered a message of a meeting at a ball and passes it onto Chauvelin. He only finds Sir Percy asleep on the settee. Marguerite, in a moral battle with herself, is frustrated at Percy for not being someone she could turn to. She reveals the plot against her brother and sweeps into the house, not looking back to see Percy looking longingly after her. Percy leaves quickly, with Marguerite wondering why. She glances in his study and finds a ring on the floor. On it is a small flower she had seen and heard tell of many times, the scarlet pimpernel. She realizes that she gave up her husband’s identity in order to save her brother. She speeds to Sir Anthony and commands him to accompany him to France in order to make Percy aware of the trap he was walking into. Chauvelin arrives at the meeting place and meets with Percy, who manages to escape. He orders a Jew to take him to the next point. Marguerite follows at a distance, hoping to find a way to alert Percy. The small hut is surrounded and all the soldiers are waiting for the signal. Marguerite can’t wait and shouts for Percy, warning those in the hut. When Chauvelin orders the door broken down, the hut is empty. The only thing is a note giving the refugees direction to the ship lying off the coast. Enraged, Chauvelin beats the Jew and leaves with his soldiers to block of all routes to the shore. Marguerite is left with the Jew, that turns out to be Percy! He had sneaked the note into the hut while the soldiers were surrounding it. He gave orders for them to go north while the note that was left on purpose said south. Marguerite is so relieved and thankful that her journey wasn’t in vain, for her brother was safely absconded on the ship and Percy was safe. Sir Anthony arrives from going the long way around to avoid the road blocks and guides them to the ship, returning to England.
Reaction
I love reading this book. It is one of my favorites. The plot twists and suspense keep the same anticipation and thought each time. The charade of Percy being the fop and fooling even his wife for a period is amazing and all the planning and coordination that went into the rescue of so many people.
Potential Problems
This is set in the time of the French Revolution, which is a bloody period in history. Baroness Orczy kept some actual characters but created the Scarlet Pimpernel as a fictional rescuer.
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