![]() However, blackmail puts her in an impossible position now that she’s in England. She committed a pretty unforgiveable act while in France and her feelings are hurt because the family she ruined won’t have anything to do with her. Identities seemed pretty clear to me from the start but she just bumbles around in ignorance, causing all kinds of chaos. She’s widely regarded as “the smartest woman in Europe” but I don’t know why. She’s a Frenchwoman who married an Englishman, Sir Percy Blakeney. The main character, in my opinion, isn’t so much The Scarlet Pimpernel himself, but rather Marguerite Blakeney. What really drove me crazy though is that every bit of dialog started with an exclamation, most frequently “La!” “Lud!” or “Zounds!” I felt like I was reading an episode of Batman from the ’60s! Where Willig’s characters are witty and smart, Orczy’s characters are overwrought, secretive, and sometimes entirely too slow on the draw. ![]() I can see the influence here but I much prefer The Pink Carnation books. ![]() When I was choosing a list of titles to read for the Classics Club, I knew I had to correct that oversight. I knew they were influenced by The Scarlet Pimpernel but I never made the time to seek out that book. ![]() ![]() I’m really not a romance reader, and they are most definitely romances, but the witty dialog, fantastic characters, Napoleonic setting, and light action/suspense kept me going back for all twelve books. One of my go-to guilty pleasures for years was The Pink Carnation series by Lauren Willig. ![]()
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