The Secret History of the Pink Carnation

By: Lauren Willig

Narrated by: Kate Reading

Length: 13 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

Deciding that true romantic heroes are a thing of the past, Eloise Kelly, an intelligent American who always manages to wear her Jimmy Choo suede boots on the day it rains, leaves Harvard's Widener Library bound for England to finish her dissertation on the dashing pair of spies the Scarlet Pimpernel and the Purple Gentian. What she discovers is something the finest historians have missed: a secret history that begins with a letter dated 1803. Eloise has found the secret history of the Pink Carnation�the most elusive spy of all time, the spy who single-handedly saved England from Napoleon's invasion.

The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, a wildly imaginative and highly adventurous debut, opens with the story of a modern-day heroine but soon becomes a book within a book. Eloise Kelly settles in to read the secret history hoping to unmask the Pink Carnation's identity, but before she can make this discovery, she uncovers a passionate romance within the pages of the secret history that almost threw off the course of world events. How did the Pink Carnation save England? What became of the Scarlet Pimpernel and the Purple Gentian? And will Eloise Kelly find a hero of her own?

©2005 Lauren Willig (P)2005 Penguin Audiobooks and Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Lauren Willig balances her knowledge of English history with a veritable passion for English spies, turning out a deftly hilarious, sexy novel." (Eloisa James, author of Kiss Me, Annabel)

"In her swashbuckling debut...Willig reimagines France under Napoleon besieged by a whole bouquet of spying floral foes.... Bad news for the Bonapartes but barrels of good-natured fun for the rest of us." (Library Journal)

"A juicy mystery...Chick-lit never had it so good!" (Complete Woman)

delightful

I found this book a refreshing, humorous and a delightful read. l love historical novels, but this was a humorous twist from the serious historical and added humor.

Thoroughly entertaining

I really enjoyed this book. I'm not specifically a history buff, so I didn't notice the liberties the author took with her details. I work the graveyard shift and rely on audiobooks to keep me awake when I'm lacking sleep. I had no problem staying awake while being entertained by this book. In fact, I skipped most of my breaks because I didn't want to stop listening. As soon as I got home I bought the second in the series. Kate Reading is one of the BEST narrators I've heard and in all honesty, I chose this book originally because she narrates it. I was not disappointed. If you don't mind a little 'fluff' and an engaging love story (sure, not realistic at times, but I already have a real life, I don't need to listen to it too) then this book is for you.

Entertaining Start to a Good Series

There is a great deal of wit and humor in the book and in the entire series, although like all series, it eventually gets stale. I enjoyed the historical perspective and the hook of using a fictional foundation as historical fact to build more fiction upon it. I thought the switch between current day and past was handled very well, and by avoiding time travel, which seems to be the current popular way to achieve this result, there was little confusion and limited explanation was necessary. The characters were well developed, sympathetic and likeable. My only complaint on this front was I liked the current day characters a great deal and wished more time was spent on them. That comes in later installments however.

I thought the narrator did a very good job voicing both current day and historical figures.

I heartily recommend this book.

Easy Entertainment

It's fun, silly, and entertaining. Perfect book for a long flight. I'm not after the specifics of an historical period, I want entertainment. Amy is not a mindless young woman trying to find a man, but rather a clever one, hoping to solve a mystery. I enjoyed it and will listen to the second in the series.

Extremely Diverting

I really enjoyed this story. It was very entertaining and the situations that the main characters get into is very entertaining. I have to admit that there were some moments that were a bit predictable. In spite of this, there were places where I laughed out loud. The gem of this audiobook is the reader who switches voices and accents to bring these characters to life with perfection - American, English and French. I would have to say that Ms. Reading is definitely an asset here. This was an overall enjoyable listen.

Nice read if you enjoy historical fiction.

This was a great mix of modern and past romance as two characters intertwine. Leaves you looking for the next part of the story. Well written and the Narrator Kate Reading added to it! Thanks for making it so easy to pass my exercise and housework time with the story going in my ear time flies!

UNNECESSARY EXPLICIT DESCRIPTIONS

I started out by reading "The Mischief of the Mistletoe", and really liked that book. And I DO like the story in this book and especially the author's great humor! The narrator is very good, too! But I think this author put in gratuitous sex, explicitly described that was totally unnecessary to the storyline. It didn't add to the story, but actually detracted from it! This author is so humorous, and tells an intelligent & well-researched historic story, that there is NO NEED for all that explicit sex! It began to make me sick after several encounters, as it did not move the story forward at all, but was actually stalling it..... maybe that was the author's intention? Please Lauren Willig - - you are too smart to delve into this type of romantic, sexual novel. Your books would be so much better if you cut most of that out.
I'm actually frightened of listening to another book of this author's just to find out it is again filled with unnecessary, explicit sex.

Just ok

I enjoyed this book, but I felt like it lacked content. The ending was inevitable from chapter one. It was ok, just not amazing.

Loved It!

I initially listened to one of the other books in this series. And, now that I'm starting with book 1 & listening my way to the rest of the series I have to say I'm so glad that I'm giving the whole series a chance!

I think you'll find The Secret History of the Pink Carnation surprisingly funny. The author has a great sense of humor. In each book you'll find two heroines--one contemporary, and one historical. Willig has written this (& the other books in the series) in a really smart way. It is easy to differentiate between the contemporary and historical fiction because the contemporary fiction is written in the first person, while the historical fiction isn't.

The other thing I liked about this book is that Willig's heroines are never stupid. You wil cheer, and sometimes cringe for them. But you never think, "Gosh, that woman is stupid." Willig has managed to make a sometimes stale and/or silly genre (historical romance) smart, funny, interesting, and incredibly enjoyable. Bravo to her!

P.S. No one could have narrated this book better than Kate Reading. She did a wonderful job.

Fluffy, but memorable

I love Kate Reading's narration and I think that helped me enjoy this more than I would have normally. The parts of the story I enjoyed best were actually the parts that were set in our current era vs. the main part of the story. I'll download the next book in the series as it sounds like it may focus more on the characters I liked from this one.