Is the Scarlet Pimpernel book going to go down in history as a classic?”
A year or two ago I was at the 3 for the price of 2 table at Borders and picked up a book that looked interesting, “The Deception of the Emerald Ring,” by Lauren Willig. I read it and enjoyed it, but was somewhat disappointed to find out it was the third novel in the series – meaning that I likely missed allusions to past events. My curiosity was somewhat piqued by the realization that these books were somewhat based off of “The Scarlet Pimpernel,” a classic book that I had never read. At that point I was going to do a pseudo-theme read and read “The Scarlet Pimpernel” along with all of Willig’s books. Taking a break from my TBR ARC pile was going to be a challenge, so I decided to tackle this on my honeymoon, when I would have lots of reading time. Because I did these as a theme read (and I’m lazy) I don’t want to write a separate review of each book, so I am going to subject you to a REALLY long post including mini-reviews of all five books. Feel free to just read the ones in which y
The Scarlet Pimpernel is a classic play and adventure novel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy. It is set during the Reign of Terror following the start of the French Revolution. The story is a precursor to the “disguised superhero” tales such as Zorro, Superman and Batman. The play was produced and adapted by Julia Neilson and Fred Terry. It first opened on 15 October 1903 at Nottingham’s Theatre Royal; it was not a success. Terry, however, had confidence in the play and, with a rewritten last act, took it to London where it opened at the New Theatre on 5 January 1905. The premier of the London production was enthusiastically received by the audience, but critics considered the play ‘old-fashioned.’ In spite of negative reviews, the play became a popular success, running 122 performances and enjoying numerous revivals. The Scarlet Pimpernel became a favourite of London audiences, playing more than 2,000 performances and becoming one of the most popular shows staged in England to that date. The
