The Elusive Pimpernel

Written by Emmuska Orczy

Narrated by Johanna Ward

In this sequel to The Scarlet Pimpernel, Sir Percy Blakeney’s arch- enemy travels to England in pursuit of the impudent enemy of the French Republic. Monsieur Chauvelin devises a dastardly plot to annihilate, once and for all, both Sir Percy and his beautiful wife, Marguerite.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blackstone Audio
• Release date: Jan 1, 2006
• ISBN: 9780786112791

Emmuska Orczy

Baroness Orczy (1865–1947) was initially born in Hungary but raised throughout Europe. She was educated in Brussels, London, Paris and Budapest where she studied creative arts. In 1899, Orczy would publish her first novel entitled, The Emperor's Candlesticks. It wasn’t a massive success but led to more writing opportunities including a series of detective stories. A few years later, she wrote and produced a stage play called The Scarlet Pimpernel, which she’d later adapt into a novel. It went on to become her most famous work and is considered a literary masterpiece of the twentieth century.

Reviews for The Elusive Pimpernel

[unreachableshelf · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A fun adventure, and if it's rather ironic that the woman known as the cleverest in Europe has absolutely no sense of when she's being played, at least the book finally acknowledged that.

[thatotter-1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Just awful. Magnifies all the weaknesses of The Scarlet Pimpernel, to the point where the sequel has made me like the first book less than I did originally. The plot here is flimsy at best, the histrionics are neverending, and the aristocracy-worship is seriously out of hand.

The sad thing is that there's an interesting conflict buried deep beneath the swooning fits, between Percy's love of adventure and his love for Marguerite/her desire to keep him safe at home. But it isn't addressed in a meaningful way--it's just a reason for Percy to demonstrate his superhuman willpower and for Marguerite to cry and angst and pass out. I've never encountered a character who spends more time unconscious than Marguerite St. Just Blakeney.

Also, can we discuss that "cleverest woman in Europe" appellation? Who came up with that one? Because she is dumber than a doornail. As usual, Marguerite rushes blindly into every waiting trap and gets caught by Chauvelin in about two seconds. Heroine fail!

Finally, the relationship between Percy and Marguerite essentially sucks. Orczy wants us to believe in this deep, earth-shaking love between them, but we never see them share anything about their true selves with one another. They are the worst communicators ever, keeping all their plans and feelings secret, to the point where they endanger each other's lives. So does their bond really go deeper than the fact that she's gorgeous, and he's rich and handsome and fashionable, and they make an attractive power couple in London society?

...Am I overthinking this one?

[zeborah · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Pleasant fun, as all in the series. Like the others, it is a bit slow to get going. The ending could have stood to be a bit cleverer too; I had some cute ideas myself, but then, practically, simplest is always safest.

[estellechauvelin · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A fun adventure, and if it's rather ironic that the woman known as the cleverest in Europe has absolutely no sense of when she's being played, at least the book finally acknowledged that.

[runaway84_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not as charming as the first book, but it had it's moments.Absolutely adored the scenes with Percy. And I felt myself holding my breath waiting to find out how he was going to get out of that dreadful bind at the end. Sink me! He's a genius.The chapters from Marguerite's point of view were absolutely excruciating. Could there be a dumber heroine? And I could do without the repeatedness of how god damn good looking the characters are. We get it, Baroness. Good lord.

[roguebelle · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Overall, this novel pales compared to the original or El Dorado, but it definitely has some worthwhile moments. Marguerite's a bit dimmer than she ought to be, and we just plain don't get to see enough of Percy -- but Chauvelin steals the show. His ruthless plot is like a firework that just keeps exploding -- it gets worse, and worse, and worse as you read on. Elusive Pimpernel drives home Chauvelin's utter diabolical genius, and ultimately that proves the most entertaining part of the book. Worth a read for hardcore Pimpernel fans.

[theokester · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is my second foray into Pimpernel literature. This is actually the third book chronologically. I'm not sure yet how episodic the story works out...this is evidently taking place after the first novel but I didn't feel like I missed out on anything by skipping the second book. It also didn't really feel like much would have been missed by skipping the first book (although the first did involve more character development of the core characters). I would recommend reading the first novel first, especially if you know nothing about the Pimpernel story, but I don't think it's vital.This Pimpernel adventure was a fun read and well worth reading. Orczy's writing style is fluid and easy to read and follow and her characters are vivid and interesting. The plot of this book was very intriguing. The Pimpernel is pitted against his enemy from the first novel, the French agent Chauvelin. Chauvelin has been given one final chance from Robespierre to catch the Pimpernell with the ultimatum that the world will either be rid of the Pimpernel or Chauvelin by the end of the adventure. The plot that Chauvelin comes up with to capture the Pimpernel is fairly diabolical and truly seems full proof. It stands as evidence of Orczy's creative ingenuity and the fullness of her characters, especially as each intricate detail plays out. It exposes Chauvelin's arrogance and his prideful desire for personal and lasting vengeance. I was very satisfied with the machinations of the plot until I realized that the remaining pages were growing few and I began to anticipate a potentially dissatisfying ending.Upon finally reaching the climactic wrap up to the adventure, I admit to being somewhat disappointed in the way things played out. Though honestly, I expected an even worse ending based on how tightly she had tied the net around our hero. I saw little hope for an exciting and viable escape (and I doubt it's any spoiler to anyone that the hero had to escape). The solution provided wasn't entirely satisfactory in my mind, but it worked out well enough, especially considering the era in which the events took place.Before I wrap up this report, I want to comment on one of the things that this novel does that I especially enjoy. In many of the novels I've read, the central heroic character is very close to the reader. We are often either right on the shoulder or even within the head of our heroic protagonist. However, in the case of Pimpernel, Orczy plays with this concept and puts us inside the head of many of the peripheral characters, even some of the very minor characters, but never lets us truly get inside the mind of the titular hero. It reminds me vaguely of the way Conan Doyle keeps us from directly knowing the inner workings of Holmes' mind. In the same way, we find ourself aligned closely with Marguerite's fears and Chauvelin's scheming, but we never align ourselves directly with the heroic thoughts of the Pimpernel. This adds to the suspense in wondering just how he could possibly escape the tightly woven trap laid for him.I think I enjoyed this book better than the first Pimpernel story, but they were both a lot of fun. I hope to be able to track down more of them to read. They're a great bit of fun for any fan of historical adventure combined with a touch of humor.****4 stars

[adonisguilfoyle · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This should be titled 'an interlude', as the real story is the powerful romance between Sir Percy and the ever impulsive Marguerite. Chauvelin sets a trap for the Pimpernel, or so he thinks, to even the score for the humiliation he suffered in Calais in The Scarlet Pimpernel; Percy takes the initiative and calls his arch-enemy's bluff, although his escape is a little flimsy (but for the convention of The Hero Always Triumphs, this should have been a victory for the sable-clad underdog). In the chapters with Marguerite, a prisoner of Chauvelin in Boulogne, the reader shares her thoughts and fears, as in The Scarlet Pimpernel, and so her very human behaviour is understandable; barring I Will Repay and Sir Percy Leads the Band, where Marguerite doesn't appear at all, this is the first sequel to consider how the Blakeneys are adjusting to their lives together after the clifftop reunion, and it does so very well. She has to learn to trust him, just as he begins to realise how vitally he loves and treasures his wife. Beautiful sentiment and subtle character development.