The Scarlet Pimpernel

By: Baroness Orczy

Narrated by: Mary Sarah

Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

Set during the Reign of Terror following the start of the French Revolution... The title character represents the original "hero with a secret identity" that inspired subsequent literary creations such as Don Diego de la Vega (El Zorro) and Bruce Wayne (the Batman). The popularity of the novel encouraged Orczy to write a number of sequels for her "reckless daredevil" over the next 35 years. The original play was performed to great acclaim in France, Italy, Germany, and Spain, while the novel was translated into 16 languages. Subsequently, the story has been adapted for television, film, a musical, and other media.

Public Domain (P)2012 Trout Lake Media

Loved!

I really enjoyed this book! It was very well written, and kept you guessing throughout the entire story! The narration was also very enjoyable to listen to. Perfect way to enjoy a great novel!

Wonderful

Love this book, it was read beautifully! Lots of emotion, inflection, and tones to distinguish different characters which helps to really get into the story!

Mildly Exciting but Dated

This is a classic primarily because it is a very early example of the popular superhero form. While listening it occurred to me The Scarlet Pimpernel might be the very first superhero in literature. It looks like the pimpernel was number two in 1903 (Spring Heeled Jack was reportedly the first in 1867). This novel was mildly exciting but is basically like a single episode of any superhero adventure. It was also a bit odd that the story was pro-monarchy. There were a few places where ill treatment of the aristocrats was condemned (while, of course, the aristocrats’ oppression of the peasants was not even mentioned). The narration is quite good. I am happy to have listened to this, but can’t say I would recommend it to most modern listeners.

I loved the narration

I believe the narrator was very attentive to pronunciation and accent overall. I did notice she pronounced Louis as an American would, however everything else was great to me:). Very entertaining and I couldn't put it down!

Finally heard this classic

What did you like best about The Scarlet Pimpernel? What did you like least?

I suppose the narrator was the best. Women narrators are generally irritating to me, but her voice was not. Least liked, I suppose, was simply that it was written in the rather overwrought drama of the times. How could I have expected otherwise? There are exceptions....

What did you like best about this story?

I thought I had figured it out, but then I got caught up in another part and forgot who I thought would advance the story....

Which scene was your favorite?

I suppose when the men were sleeping at the ball.

Could you see The Scarlet Pimpernel being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

A bit out of date, I think.

Great story, disappointing narration

I enjoy this book very much, but I found that this narrator was difficult to understand. Her pronunciations were strange (though the French was good), and I had to slow her down to make this version work for me.

Great story but contains profanity

Well dramatized, I enjoyed the characters and story line embedded in a historical context. I liked the plot twists and found myself routing for the protagonists.

My reason for not giving the story more stars: I was disappointed in the author's use of profanity by a variety of characters throughout the story.

great story, odd narration

Love this story! Adventure, mystery, romance, historical fiction. It's great! But the narrator speaks really fast, weirdly fast, so I have to slow down to 85%. Emphasis and inflections are put on strange words, and narrator mispronounces simple things like place names (e.g. narrator mispronounces Greenwich as, "Green-Witch" instead of "Gren-itch"...)

Historically Important story

This is not the best story of its genre, but it is extremely important because it is quite possibly the first identifiable "super-hero" story, complete with a secret identity and tales of derring-do. Written in 1905 but set in 1792, this swashbuckler is notable not only for its groundbreaking, but also because almost the whole story is told from the point-of-view of the title character's wife.

There is some unfortunate anti-Semitism late in the story, which is acceptable only in that it is considered a trait of the villains of the piece.

I rated the overall score higher than either of its parts because this is what gave us Zorro, the Lone Ranger, and eventually Batman. If you love this genre, you have to know this book.

wonderful old tale

well read and better than all the copies and borrowings of this wonderful story. loved it.