I received a copy of The Scarlet Pimpernel on my 18th birthday from my friend Eric M. For some reason, although I love classics, I was not instantly attracted nor curious about the book, and I only read it after two or three years when I couldn’t find anything else to read. I got it from my bookshelf, dusted off the covers, and entered the absorbing world of the Blakeneys and the French Revolution and the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel. With its mystery, intrigue and adventure, the book quickly became one of my favorites. It is written by Baroness Emmuska Orczy – who has a surname I would not want, since it is too reminiscent of the orcs from The Lord of the Rings. But that’s another story.

The story is set during the bloodthirsty stage of the French Revolution, when the French were killing their aristocrats daily, and a secret society of English men called the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel were daring to rescue their French counterparts. The leader of the society was called the Scarlet Pimpernel, after the small red flower which he uses as his signature.

The story is also about an estranged couple, a rather frivolous and idiotic English fop named Sir Percy Blakeney and his brilliant French wife, Marguerite St. Just. Before her marriage, Marguerite unintentionally sent the family of the French aristocrat the Marquis de St. Cyr to the guillotine through some careless words she said. When Sir Percy found out, he waited for an explanation but heard none from his proud wife.

I like what the author said when asked how she came to think of the story. Her answer was, “It was God’s will that I should… In the chain of my life, there were so many links, all of which tended towards bringing me to the fulfillment of my destiny…” What a lovely way to look at things! I sure hope I’d be able to fulfill my destiny as well, although I seriously doubt if it will involve the creation of some swashbuckling character.

You may check out my favorite scenes and excerpts (including the short poem containing the line “that demmed, elusive Pimpernel”) here.