Product Description
The author writes, "Three aristos who were being sent to Paris for trial were absolutely spirited away from under the very nose of the highly efficient police administration of the province. Spirited away! There was no other word for it! And the whole thing was obviously the work of those abominable English, who were emissaries of the devil, for no flesh and blood human creature could have engineered so damnable a trick and then disappeared as if the earth had swallowed them up."Download Description
Just think on it! Three aristos who were being sent to Paris for trial were absolutely spirited away from under the very nose of the highly efficient police administration of the province. Spirited away! There was no other word for it! And the whole thing was obviously the work of those abominable English, who were emissaries of the devil, for no flesh and blood human creature could have engineered so damnable a trick and then disappeared as if the earth had swallowed them up. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Super Reader
In this book, Percy isn't opposed by Chauvelin, really, but instead, has to deal with a femme fatale, instead.

A young woman ends up in the bastille because of a complicated story involving the execution of her father. When the mob releases her after the storming, she goes the other way, and becomes a feared agent of the blade, and is in fact nicknamed after it.

She works to take revenge on those who wronged her, and their families. This is where the Pimpernel and company work to try and stop her and save the innocent. ... Read more

Book Description
"It is only for a few days, Nicolaes, a few days during which I swear to you that -- though absent and engaged in the greatest task that any man can undertake on this earth -- I swear to you that I will keep watch over Gilda and defend her honour with my life. If you will make the sacrifice for me and for my cause, Heaven and your country will reward you beyond your dreams. With the death of the Stadtholder my power in the Netherlands will be supreme, and herewith, with my hand in yours, I solemnly plight my troth to Gilda.Download Description
It is only for a few days, Nicolaes, a few days during which I swear to you that -- though absent and engaged in the greatest task that any man can undertake on this earth -- I swear to you that I will keep watch over Gilda and defend her honour with my life. If you will make the sacrifice for me and for my cause, Heaven and your country will reward you beyond your dreams. With the death of the Stadtholder my power in the Netherlands will be supreme, and herewith, with my hand in yours, I solemnly plight my troth to Gilda. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Super Reader
Even more romping in the face of those dastardly Frenchie anti-royalist
cranium removers. Fun adventure. Lots of information on the beginnings
and early adventures of the group that leads up to the Scarlet
Pimpernel. Much capturing of the good guys by evil bad guys, threats,
dramatic posturing, attempts to take away the women, desperate
horseback rides and war. ... Read more

Book Description
Baroness Orczy was a Hungarian who moved to London.She became a novelist, painter, and playwright. This is one of several sequels to The Scarlet Pimpernel. During the most violent days of the French Revolution there was still time for romance. The intrigue makes for an exciting adventure story. ... Read more

Book Description
And God spoke to her at last; through the eternal vistas of boundless universe, from that heaven which had known no pity, His voice came to her now, clear, awesome, and implacable.Download Description
Coward! Coward! Coward! The words rang out, clear, strident, passionate, in a crescendo of agonised humiliation.The boy, quivering with rage, had sprung to his feet, and, losing his balance, he fell forward clutching at the table, whilst with a convulsive movement of the lids, he tried in vain to suppress the tears of shame which were blinding him. "Coward!" He tried to shout the insult so that all might hear, but his parched throat refused him service, his trembling hand sought the scattered cards upon the table, he collected them together, quickly, nervously, fingering them with feverish energy, then he hurled them at the man opposite, whilst with a final effort he still contrived to mutter: "Coward!" ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Another Christmas gift
As in the previous review, this is a gift for a friend's daughter but I'm sure it will be appreciated.Also, it came in excellent condition.Merry CHRISTmas!

The sequel to the Scarlet Pimpernel
This is Baroness Orczy's sequel to her classic Scarlet Pimpernel. The protagonist is a wealthy Parisian lawyer who is forced into a duel with a rich young wastrel ten years before the Revolution. The Revolution finds the same lawyer a well regarded deputy in the Assembly. He is a philanthropist and well loved, even by the Paris mob. Unbeknown to him, the young sister of the man he killed in the duel has sworn revenge on him. They meet and the action takes off from there. The Pimpernel makes his appearance and the ending is happy. It is not as good a read as the first novel but worth while if you like this genre.

Super Reader
A man loses his son in a duel, and requests that his daughter help him do something about the man that did it, even though it was in a duel. In this book the Pimpernel is a supporting character, and he is needed later, after the young woman gets herself into trouble with Robespierre's committee.

She also learns that the surviving duellist is really not such a bad bloke after all, and, in fact, is rather attractive.

Flee the Embrace of Madame Guillotine
I WILL REPAY, a sequel to Orczy's novel THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL, is a delightful romp through fields of adventure, danger, betrayal, daring rescue, and true love.Orczy's weaving of the love motif amidst the events of the plot, events that threaten at any moment to bring down the wrath of Robespierre's Committee of Public Safety upon our protagonists, a wrath that would inevitably and quickly lead them to the guillotine, is adroitly done.Her weaving integrates threads of misunderstanding, misinterpretation, and erroneous conclusion with those of attraction, trust, adoration, and longing to produce a tapestry replete with the darkness of betrayal and the brightness of redemption.

As in THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL, women in I WILL REPAY are both the cause of the novel's crisis and the reward after its resolution.Juliette Marny's naivete and innocence in the ways of the world lead her to agree to a terrible oath when her brother is killed, in a fair fight one must note, by Paul Deroulede.Her unquestioning religious beliefs overcome her yet immature judgement and compassion and give that oath, taken many years earlier, the upper hand and lead to the denouncement of Deroulede to the deadly Committee of Public Safety in revolutionary France.

Juliette is not the only character to suffer from the "weakness of a woman's heart."The strange, malformed little Anne Mie contrives to betray Juliette just as Juliette betrays Deroulede.While Orczy's women are the betrayers and instigators in these novels, none is of truly evil disposition. Their betrayals are the result of their "feminine weakness," a characteristic that may appear strange to a 21st century reader who is accustomed to seeing contemporary women as at least equal to men if not, in many cases, their superiors.However, such was not the case when Baroness Orczy wrote in the early 20th century and was certainly not the norm in 18th century France, historical exceptions such as Joan of Arc notwithstanding.Orczy's women, therefore, are weak and are subject to all the frailties in judgement of their sex, but they are as much innocent victims of this as are those whom they betray because of those frailties.

After the multiple misunderstandings and betrayals, we find both Juliette Marny and Paul Deroulede condemned by the court, in the cart surrounded by the National Guard, and en route to prison, through which they will quickly pass to the embrace of Madame Guillotine.How can they possibly escape?Readers who have already made the acquaintance of the Scarlet Pimpernel in Orczy's novel of that name will understand that very little is beyond the wiles of this Englishman bent on thumbing his nose at the revolutionary government by spiriting its prey to the safety of his own country.His swashbuckling plan to rescue the condemned is the epitome of derring-do and is fully worthy of this surprising English gentleman.

If I find anything in this novel to rebuke, it may be Orczy's incessant painting of the revolutionary government and of the Parisian mobs in the darkest, filthiest, and most noisome colors she can create.Not to sound as an apologist for the horrors of the First Republic, but I did find the constant portrayal of its proponents as the most loathsome and nastiest of creatures to be annoying after a time.In this regard, Orczy not only made her point early but kept making it at every turn in the story.The plot would not have suffered from a little less vehemence and less heavy-handedness in her descriptions.

One can find, amidst the swashbuckling adventure of this novel, a few moral lessons, too, especially one relating to the title.It is Juliette's oath, which she allows to supercede God's injunction to leave vengeance to Him, that is the root of the major crises in the story.Of course, had she followed God's word, rather than that of her dying and revenge-bent father, there would have been no story.

I am reminded that the first novel in the Pimpernel genre was originally written as a stage play. It is an easy transformation to see I WILL REPAY recast as a play as well, and it would be a most entertaining diversion.In either case, whether reading it in its actual form as a novel or playing it on the stage in one's mind, one will enjoy the experience of being in the audience as Baroness Orczy's story unfolds.

The Adventure Continues!
The adventure continues with the Scarlet Pimpernel back in France again to rescue innocent people from the guillotine.This book lacks nothing in adventure, excitement, and plot.The only disappointment in this book - and it is a minor one - is that the Scarlet Pimpernel himself is relegated to a secondary role.Even so, the good guy carries the day! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Sir Percy is my other lover.
if you want Sir Percy and Lady Blakeney love, read this book. It recaptures the danger and romance of the first novel and shows a bit of Chauvlin's human side.

Super Reader
The goings on in Sir Percy Hits Back are a little bit different to the rest. Chauvelin features as a major character in a different way.

His daughter, Fleurette, is involved in an incident that brings her under suspicion of the committee. He realises that with the zealousness shown so far, and the number of innocent people murdered that she is likely doomed, even if he can try and sway the court.

There is not much hope that she can be saved, unless he turns to his bitter enemy, The Scarlet Pimpernel.

Chauvelins more human side...
Chauvelin, the arch-enemy of the Scarlet Pimpernel is ruthless and merciless, but he does have a tender spot in his heart. He loves his daughter Fleurette more than anyone else in the world.
When he is speaking to her, he is almost another person. It is really touching to see how gentle and caring he is. Baroness Orczy describes Chauvelins love for Fleurtte as "pertained to that of a wild beast for its young." "If she was destined to perish, then it would be by his own hand, not as a spectacle for the rabble to gloat on." He loves her in a fierce way tigerish way, fitting to his character.
This book lets you have an insight in to Chauvelins earlier and family life. The audacious Sir Percy plays only a small part in this book, but a important one. Chauvelins's devotion to Fleurette is something you never thought existed in the man, whose heart you thought was made out of stone.

When Fleurette is condemed as a traitor to the country, and is sentenced to death by the same laws Chauvelin helped to make, he has totry to save her, or at least die with her. Only when he has suffered intense, mental anguish for weeks does he realize that he must turn to his bitter enemy for help; the Scarlet Pimpernel, the only one who can save his beloved child.

Thought provoker
Well.I wouldn't've thought Chauvelin had a heart, judging by the other stories about SP.But then, there are always two sides to a coin, and this was a definate quirk.

So after trying and trying and trying (and failing) to capture the Pimpernel, he finally goes to him for help.Maybe he finally had to concede that there was only one person who could do so.

His humanity is rather touching, you know, with his devotion to Fleurette and all (I mean, really.When you go to your arch-enemy for help...), and all the way to the end, you're wondering if he was really all that evil to begin with.

By far my fav...
This is definately my favorite of all of Orczy's books that I've read- Ithink that I've read most (8) of the Scarlet Pimpernel series, and this isthe one that I keep coming back to reread.It is one of the most amusingand gives more information on Chauvelin than all of the other bookscombined.Yes, I'll admit it, I'm a Chauvelin fan!I love learning moreabout him! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Super Reader
Again, this is not a full length novel, but a group of shorter works. So the title is apt, as there are indeed several adventures of Sir Percy and the gang to be found in these pages.

A couple of the opening paragraphs are pretty funny:

"You really are impossible, Sir Percy! Here are we ladies raving, simply
raving, about this latest exploit of the gallant Scarlet Pimpernel, and
you do naught but belittle his prowess. Lady Blakeney, I entreat, will
you not add your voice to our chorus of praise, and drown Sir Percy's
scoffing in an ocean of eulogy?"

and

"Oh!" he said, "do not ask me to inculcate hero-worship into this mauvis
sujet. If you ladies cannot convert him to your views, how can I...a
mere man...?"

And His Highness shrugged his shoulders. There were few entertainments
he enjoyed more than seeing his friend Sir Percy Blakeney badgered by
the ladies on the subject of their popular and mysterious hero, the
Scarlet Pimpernel.

Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel
During the year 1792, while the French Revolution is at its peak, a mysterious young Englishman vows to rescue innocent people from their death at the guillotine. Each time he succeeds in sneaking someone out of France, he leaves a note signed with a little flower called the Scarlet Pimpernel.No one can identify this mysterious person, but a French spy has sworn to bring this meddlesome man to his death.Meanwhile, a beautiful, young, French exile, named Marguerite Blakeney marries a tall dull Englishman. The plot thickens as the French spy, Chauvelin, tricks Marguerite into betraying her own husband. But when the Scarlet Pimpernel gets caught in a trap, he always has a daring plan to get out.

I liked the book because it was very exciting and the characters seemed incredibly real. Just when you thought you knew what would happen, the author, Orczy, would change things around.Also, whenever one of the characters was in danger, I was scared for them and had to keep reading until they were out of trouble.Overall, I loved the book and would definitely recommend it to someone else.It was cleverly written and full of intrigue.

Percy Rocks!
"Adventures" is a collection of short stories about the exploits of the Pimpernel and his league. They are wonderfully entertaining and Pimpernel addicts will be in heaven! Lots of disguises and narrow escapeshere. I particularly enjoyed "Fie, Sir Percy!" The prince ofdandies falls asleep during a recitation of the pimpernel's adventures,bringing the playful wrath of the ton down on his immaculate head.

This adventure will weave a spell around any reader!
This novel is a treasure because of the way that the author protrays the hardships of the nobility during the French Revolution.The book mainly focuses on the Scarlet Pimpernel, his wife, and the villian who is a spyfor France's Republic.The Scarlet Pimpernel, in short, is a rescuer ofthe nobility of France.He and his nineteen comrades take numerous anddaring trips accross the English channel to help unfortunate and innocentpeople escape the clutches of the dreaded guilloutine.His wifeunknowingly places him in danger and then when she realizes that, she risksher life to find him and warn him of the death that awaits him.Read thisnovel and throw yourself into a time that is past where heros exist andlove is everlasting. ... Read more

Book Description

Includes 8 classics by Baroness Emmuska Orczy. Indexed for easy navigation.

Book Description
Molé, despite his great height, succeeded in getting through unperceived. He was of no account, and he knew his way inside the house. It was full of people: journalists, gaffers, woman and men--the usual crowd that come to gape. The citizen Marat was a great personage. The Friend of the People. An Incorruptible, if ever there was one. Just look at the simplicity, almost the poverty, in which he lived! Only the aristos hated him, and the fat bourgeois who battened on the people.Download Description
Molé, despite his great height, succeeded in getting through unperceived. He was of no account, and he knew his way inside the house. It was full of people: journalists, gaffers, woman and men--the usual crowd that come to gape. The citizen Marat was a great personage. The Friend of the People. An Incorruptible, if ever there was one. Just look at the simplicity, almost the poverty, in which he lived! Only the aristos hated him, and the fat bourgeois who battened on the people. ... Read more

Book Description
The complete collection of Lady Molly stories by Baroness Orczy.Download Description
The complete collection of Lady Molly stories by Baroness Orczy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Good Alternative to Sherlock Holmes
Lady Molly of Scotland Yard is an enjoyable collection of stories in the Sherlock Holmes manner, although the accounts aren't quite as detailed.Is this where Carole Nelson Douglas got her inspiration for Irene Adler's expanded character, in addition to "A Scandal in Bohemia"?Both Lady Molly and Irene bear remarkable similarities.

Highly entertaining
I do not profess to know much about Sherlock Holmes, but the style is much the same as the Sherlock Holmes tales I have read, but with a feminist...and feminine...spin. The Baroness Orczy lays the stories out quickly and the stories don't drag on, as some mystery stories and novels do (although you may lament the shortness at times).

While some may find Lady Molly's feminine intuition somewhat unbelieveable, the stories are nonetheless delightful. Just as I was eager to find out whodunit in each story, so was I eager to learn of my lady's interesting history.

Highly entertaining!

A fun collection of Victorian detective stories!
The Lady Molly stories are fun, semi-feminist, Sherlock-Holmes-like tales. The attention to servants, clothing, and the ambiance of the era is delightful. The heroine is out to save her man and is both "ladylike" and a little feminist--although she gives up her job for love at the end of the book. ... Read more

Product Description
Sequel to the classic adventure tale The Scarlet Pimpernel, this suspenseful story unfolds against the backdrop of the French Revolution. ... Read more

Book Description
It was a mere flash! One of memory's swiftly effaced pictures, when she shows us for the fraction of a second indelible pictures from out our past. Chauvelin, in that same second, while his own eyes were closed and Robespierre's fixed upon him, also saw the lonely cliffs of Calais, heard the same voice singing "God save the King!" the volley of musketry, the despairing cries of Marguerite Blakeney; and once again he felt the keen and bitter pang of complete humiliation and defeat.Download Description
On! ever on! in that wild, surging torrent; sowing the wind of anarchy, of terrorism, of lust of blood and hate, and reaping a hurricane of destruction and of horror. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Super Reader
You can't catch him! A French agent is sent to England undercover as a French diplomat, to try and capture Percy Blakeney (or, actually, his alter-ego, the Scarlet Pimpernel) and get him back to France where they can lop him for all the humiliation and trouble that he has caused.

Said dodgy Frenchman with the help of a sneaky French actress manages to get his hands on Marguerite, and has her in prison.

This leaves the Pimpernel to come up with a plan that will make the Frenchies look silly again.

Definitely an entertaining adventure.

THE ELUSIVE PIMPERNEL
The Elusive Pimpernel follows closely on the heals of the first book of the series, The Scarlet Pimpernel. It seems to me that Baroness Orczy was pouring out her own heart feelings through that of Lady Blackney. Her excellent use of discription makes your own heart ache till near bursting with devotion, love, passion and even fear. There is never a dull moment in this wonderfully wriiten book. I love it and will read it over and over.

"They seek him here, they seek him there, that demmed elusive pimpernel!"
THE ELUSIVE PIMPERNEL, the third book in the Pimpernel series by Baroness Orczy, thoroughly establishes the predominant feature that the reader has come to expect in Orczy's novels: faultless cunning and adventurous bravado by the heroic Pimpernel that never fails to foil the nefarious schemes of his enemies, the revolutionaries of Robespierre's 18th century French Republic.

The reader also knows to expect a bit of archaic word usage, such as "lanthorn" for "lantern," as well as a little French slang here and there that will not succumb to most translating dictionaries, such as "calotin," which, by virtue of the context, I take to be a derogatory term for a churchman.Orczy also throws a few quite good but somewhat uncommon terms into her prose, such as "Columbine," a stock character from Italian drama. Merely because I generally feel rather cheated if I miss the full implication of an author's words, I found it comforting to have one of my English dictionaries as well as my French translating dictionary near at hand while reading Orczy, although it is quite possible to enjoy the plot without recourse to such references, especially if one is adept at grasping the general meaning of unusual words from their context in the story.

As in her other novels, Orczy's characters are stereotypes and are "flat"; that is, they remain the same throughout the story and do not undergo any particular development or change.Sir Percy Blakeney remains the stalwart, unshakable and indestructible adventurer throughout. His arch enemy, Monsieur Chauvelin, begins and ends as a dark, despicable creature who constantly connives to bring down Sir Percy.Lady Marguerite Blakeney plays the part of every significant female figure in Orczy's novels: She means well ands her motivations are impeccable, but her "feminine weakness," the fatal flaw that she suffers merely because of her sex, leads her into unwittingly betraying her husband and placing them both in such jeopardy that nothing short of the audacity and swashbuckling daring of the Scarlet Pimpernel can possibly save them.

As stereotyped characters, the actors who populate Orczy's novel are all somewhat larger than life.Sir Percy is invariably heroic and gently but firmly conquering.Lady Blakeney is invariably the pure, honorable but weak woman.Chauvelin and other leaders of the French revolution are invariably terrorists and anarchists.Abbe Foucquet is invariably the naive old priest who constantly murmurs his Paters and Aves in good times and bad.The attraction of Orczy's novels lies firmly in their suspenseful plots, not in the roundedness or the development of their characters.

Thinking of her depiction of the old priest as well as some descriptions in the preceding novel, I WILL REPAY, I find Orczy's attitude toward religion to be interesting.On the one hand, she depicts churchmen as naive and guileless innocents, rather useless and, at best, irrelevant in the worldly struggle that surrounds them.On the other hand, she portrays the revolutionaries in the harshest of lights and sarcastically observes that they have replaced the good God (le bon dieu) with the "Goddess of Reason," who, in being represented by an incompetent actress during her inaugural procession, is shown to be false.Hence, we find criticism both of those who would nay-say the existence of God and of those who would guide the devotions of his followers.

While it is not absolutely necessary to have read the two preceding novels in order to enjoy THE ELUSIVE PIMPERNEL, the earlier works do establish the background for certain relationships, and a few events in them do receive occasional references in this novel.One's understanding of the third book in the series will certainly be enhanced by an acquaintance with the earlier books.On a final note, which I do hope piques my readers' curiosities, if one is not aware of the differences between the songs "Ca Ira" and "La Marseillaise," a brief Internet search will bring up the historical backgrounds, words and tunes of the two, enabling one to appreciate much more fully Orczy's references to them.

In brief, THE ELUSIVE PIMPERNEL continues its author's romp through the adventurous fields of a France racked by revolution and invaded by "that demmed elusive pimpernel."It's lightweight reading that mixes fun and relaxation in equal amounts.If we can think of some books on serious scientific or social topics as "classroom reading," then the Pimpernel books are our "recess reading" and should be enjoyed as such.

Fairly good sequel...
"Elusive" isn't my favorite Pimpernel sequel, but it's not bad at all either.

First, the bad: While I can understand that Marguerite is a woman in love, some of her stupidity at the beginning bordered on unbelievable (I don't mean this as an offense to Margot, who is one of my favorite characters, but if you read this book, you'll understand what I mean when I say she makes a bad decision).As usual, Percy becomes a secondary character in his own books, and that bothers me.Lastly, the choice Chauvelin gives Marguerite and Percy gets to be a little too much.

The good:
When Percy is around, he really shines.He has some really great moments in this book (which I won't spoil).The reader gets an idea of some of the emotions that are going on behind the facade.Also, "Elusive" has much more of a climax than some of the other Pimpernel books, which is a nice relief.Lastly, Desiree Candeille is an interesting character.

In all, I would recommend Eldorado between Elusive Pimpernel, but it's still a good read anyway.

The Scarlet Pimpernel does it again!
What a great book!It's a worthy follow-up to the original, with plenty of excitement, loads of humor, world-class table-turning and narrow escapes. ... Read more

Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Product Description
Paris during the Revolution! Defiance, murder, and the guillotine! The Scarlet Pimpernell comes to the rescue in this thrilling adventure of days gone by. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Lacking only a tinkling piano and a damsel tied to the tracks...
Everyone who has read the first three books in Orczy's Scarlet Pimpernel series will know what to expect in ELDORADO, the fourth installment of the Pimpernel's adventures rescuing innocent folk from the guillotine in the French First Republic in the waning years of the 18th century.As in the earlier books, we find the evil leaders of the Revolution imposing a harsher and more deadly rule on the people of France than the deposed monarch ever did.We find Sir Percy Blakeney and his English accomplices skulking through the alleys of Paris in disguise, bent on spiriting "aristos" and "suspects of treason against the Republic" out of France to the safety of England--and thumbing their noses at the Revolutionary government in the process.We find Lady Blakeney ever more madly in love with her multifaceted husband, who can be an effete dandy in an English drawing room one day and a consummate master of disguise in France the next evening.

As with her other novels, Orczy has written a gripping story of intrigue, betrayal, capture, and miraculous escape.ELDORADO is a fun read, but it is also a superficial one.All of the interest lies in the development of the plot.The characters remain their usual, flat, undeveloped selves; their actions, their emotions, and their thoughts remain predictable.The leading characters are, in fact, exaggerated stereotypes: Sir Percy of the bold, imperturbable, and unconquerable adventurer who does much good for others in the course of his adventures; Lady Blakeney of the adoring wife whose feminine weaknesses sooner or later require her husband's intercession to rescue her from the clutches of the villains; and Monsieur Chauvelin of the unrepentant, revenge-seeking villain.Come to think of it, with characters such as these, ELDORADO lacks only a tinkling piano and a railroad track to be a first class melodrama.

Orczy's writing is in no way inspirational.Her descriptions of scenes read much like the directions for the settings of stage plays.The dialogs of her characters are highly repetitious at times.To achieve that "1790s effect," she throws in a few archaic words now and then, things such as "decatombs" and "lanthorns"; unfortunately, she uses the very same archaic terms in all of her novels, and the reader tends to become a bit bored with their frequent recurrence.The range of Orczy's vocabulary, while quite adequate for an adventure novel, is hardly inexhaustible, and reading all of her Pimpernel novels does expose one to much linguistic repetition.

The recurring theme of feminine frailty is alive and well in ELDORADO.While we do have a new twist in that it is one of the Pimpernel's men who intentionally betrays him to Chauvelin, that betrayal results from the man's blinding love for Mlle. Lange, who is thus portrayed as the unwitting cause of all the ensuing troubles.Furthermore, as in an earlier novel, Lady Blakeney goes herself to France and again requires rescue by Sir Percy.

While the strength of the novel lies entirely in its plot, one thing in particular challenges my credulity.During his imprisonment, Sir Percy is as closely guarded and watched as was Marie Antoinette before she was led to the guillotine.How our hero manages to write three different secret letters to his wife and comrades without Chauvelin noticing the missing sheets of paper is nothing short of miraculous.

I also remain curious as to the title. "El Dorado," of course, refers to aland of jewels, silver, gold, and other riches.There are several possible "riches" in this novel: the safety and beauty of England to which our adventurers must try to escape, the glory of true love between Sir Percy and Marguerite, the esteem in which Sir Percy holds his honor, perhaps even the sense of adventure which Sir Percy shares with the Spanish Conquistadores who sought "El Dorado" in the New World.Perhaps it alludes to the glory of freedom to which Sir Percy aspires from his dank, claustrophobic prison cell. Nonetheless, the full significance of the title continues to elude me.

Inasmuch as ELDORADO is characterized by recurring themes, recurring characters and recurring dialog, why have I given it four stars?As we've noticed, it does have a new plot twist, but mainly it's just a rollicking read.How can Sir Percy possibly escape this time?How can he save himself when Chauvelin holds the lives of his wife and his brother-in-law hostage?Is this the end?Will the Mountie rescue the damsel from the railroad track before the racing train is upon her?(Oh, sorry.That was from a different melodrama.)Come to Orczy's novel wanting to be entertained by an adventurous swashbuckler who defies death in near-impossible situations, and you'll find your reading time well spent.Come seeking any other outcome, and you may be disappointed.

The passions of the weak that traps the strong
So far I have read "The Scarlet Pimpernel," "The Elusive Pimpernel" and I had just finished "El Dorado."This last book wounded me emotionally so much I'm still hurting.

I had watched Jane Seymoure's version(1982) of the movie before so I had an idea of the plot.I knew Armand would be the cause of our hero's troubles but I didn't know it was going to be such a near death experience... The price Percy had to pay for Armand's folly was just too much.

SPOILER ALERT!!!
I was spell-bound by Percy's attitude through-out...he was a visionary but he was realistic enough to accept that 'mayhaps'...Chauvelin would win tis time.So he told Sir Andrews before going back to Paris: <>

But then, I was horrified when I understood the depth of Armand's folly.In the movie, he was just impulsively stupid.The book reveals a much darker truth...so terrible that Percy had to try hard to conceal it from Margarite.He forgave Armand for Margarite's sake, but if she knew...she would hate her brother for life, and that Percy had to keep from happening (since if he died, Margarite would have no one left but Armand).

And the comment the impulsive brother-in-law threw at Percy:"You do not know what love is!"This comment hit Percy so hard that he not only agrees with Armand but he mentions it several times after:"We both agreed that I do not know what love is."That's what he says, but his actions speak otherwise.

As for Armand, his way of loving is too selfish, impulsive and inmature.I wonder who was the one who really "didn't know..."

A romping good adventure!
I've read about half of the Scarlet Pimpernel books, and this one is definitely my favorite thus far. I won't rehash the plot as others said it well here. Briefly, SP must save the Dauphin from the clutches of Robespierre and Chauvelin. Armand has to choose between his honor and his heart, and he chooses, forcing SP to clean up the mess, at great physical cost to himself. There was interesting character development for Armand, and I also liked the scenes with Sir Tony, who is my favorite of the peripheral characters. If you've seen the SP production with Anthony Andrew and Jane Seymour, part of the plot is taken from this book. Try it out! It's a romping good adventure, and not as lackluster or meandering as some of her other titles.

Excellent sequel
If you enjoyed The Scarlet Pimpernel, it's worth the effort to try to dig up a copy of the sequel.

Percy and the League try to smuggle the Dauphin out of France, which is complicated when Armand becomes disobedient after falling in love.I won't ruin what happens to Percy (if you look at other reviews they say), but it puts the Scarlet Pimpernel through a pretty bad ordeal.

This one is faster paced than The Scarlet Pimpernel, but it's still a little slow in the beginning.Once you hit the second part, though, it really speeds up.The scenes between Marguerite and Percy are great.I can't recommend this book enough.I read it in about three days (which would have been two if I wasn't falling asleep after staying up until 2 in the morning to try to finish it!)

However, getting hold of a copy is much harder than the original.Bucaneer Books does have a hard-cover copy in print, but parts of it are abridged.I would recommend either trying to find a used copy, getting a copy from the library, or importing a copy from the UK (I belive that edition is unabridged, although I'm not positive).But this book is worth the hassle it might take to get it.

The Pimpernel at his very best!
Determined to save the young Prince Louis, heir to the throne of France, Percy and the league embark upon their most dangerous adventure yet.Everything goes well until Armand, struck by Cupid's arrow, disobeys orders to try and help his ladylove, landing Percy right in Chauvlin's hands.Will he escape from the darkest cells of the Conciergre?Will he be able to save the Dauphin?Wait and see!

This is my favorite of all the Pimpernel books.With its numerous plot twists and suprise ending, this is one of my favorite books altogether.Not to mention it has some great scenes between Percy and Marguerite as Percy is being tortured (yes!Tortured!) in prison.I sobbed miserably during that part.Of course, you'll proably end up hating Armand for the rest of your life, but that's a small price to pay for such a marvelous story! ... Read more

Book Description
El Dorado began as a South American legend of a tribal chief who covered himself in gold dust and dove into a pure mountain spring.The legend evolved into a city filled with riches. The Orcy's book El Dorado is a sequel to the more famous Scarlet Pimpernel. The setting is Paris in 1794.The plot contains intrigue, imprisonment, romance and adventure. ... Read more

Book Description
Quite enough in truth to make a man who is dizzy with love ten thousand times more dizzy still. And Diogenes was desperately in love, more so indeed than he had ever thought himself capable of being. He quietly unbuckled his sword, which clanged against the floor when he moved, and deposited in cautiously and noiselessly in an angle of the room. Then he tiptoed across to the virginal and knelt beside his beloved.Download Description
Quite enough in truth to make a man who is dizzy with love ten thousand times more dizzy still. And Diogenes was desperately in love, more so indeed than he had ever thought himself capable of being. He quietly unbuckled his sword, which clanged against the floor when he moved, and deposited in cautiously and noiselessly in an angle of the room. Then he tiptoed across to the virginal and knelt beside his beloved. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Super Reader
This is the second of the prequels I suppose you could say, to the main Scarlet Pimpernel chronology, and is the story of the older generation.

The woman the first Sir Percy is to marry has a brother that is definitely a nogoodnik, and this gets in the way of their life.

This has to be resolved, but it is not the same superheroic type style of the Pimpernel escapades, although the writing is similar.

The First Sir Percy
This prequel to Baroness Orzcy's Scarlet Pimpernel series interested me for I love that series.I would seriously suggest to read at least the Scarlet Pimpernel and Eldorado first.The story follows Sir Percy's fatheror great grandfather in an adventure that starts his wedding day and takeshim far away from his bride and her traitorous brother.The novel mainlyfollows the acts of the brother, Nicholaus, as he becomes more and morecorrupt.His feelings are very detailed and his character is thoroughlyanalyzed.Gilda is obviously just a clone of Marguerrite, and Sir Percy isnever much like the man that will be named after him.All in all a goodread but I would not suggest this be the first book you buy or read in theseries. ... Read more