The Elusive Pimpernel

By: Baroness Orczy

Narrated by: Johanna Ward

Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

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. Lured to France, where the entire town of Boulogne is held hostage on their behalf, they seem to be hopelessly trapped. Will the Scarlet Pimpernel prevail?

(P)1997 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"Johanna Ward brings suspense and wit to this story of intrigue set in the days following the French Revolution....She makes good use of her native British and superb French accents to help create vivid and complex personalities. Ward's great sense of mood and timing carry listeners through to the very end." (AudioFile)

Witty, funny and well read.

I loved this book. It had me giggling from beginning to end. The reading was perfect. All the names, all the accents, all the witty dialogue. Fantastic.

The difficult second album.......

I relisten to "The Scarlet Pimpernel" frequently but this isn't going to make it to the repeats list.

It lacks the humour and adventure of the original and spends too much time talking about how luuuuuuvly Blakeney is and how much she luuuuuuvs him and frankly it wears a bit thin after an hour or so. But maybe that's just me.

Wonderful Romance/Adventure

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely! Wonderful story. Impecable narration! I believe Johanna Ward narrated another Pimpernel book, and did it well, but she outdid herself this time.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Marguerite, without a doubt she is as they say "the cleverest woman in Europe", and she loves her husband with a passion.

What does Johanna Ward bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

So much more than just reading. She assists in bringing the book to life. So many voices, so many accents, male, female old young. A joy to listen to!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It was an emotional roller coaster. Ups and downs, highs and lows.

Any additional comments?

Had read it before and enjoyed the story the narration was an extra treat!

Fun and romantic, great narration

I'm a huge fan of modern historical dramas and period romances, and the Scarlet Pimpernel withstands the test of time. Kate Redding (aka Johanna Ward) does an amazing job narrating this installment of the Pimpernel's adventures. It's a lot of fun for such a grim Revolutionary period piece. I adore Sir Percy's droll nature, and even if this hadn't been a free Audible Plus book I would have definitely coughed up to have this one part of my library. It's just enjoyable listening.

Lots of jolly good fun and exciting intrigue.

Any additional comments?

I have enjoyed both the Scarlet Pimpernel and the Elusive Pimpernel very much. The hero of the book kept me laughing all the time. His duplicity was very amusing and I listened eagerly for his each new encounter to see what he had to say, or what amazing way he would handle the next situation. Yes, it has intrigue, conflict, and adventure, but the dialogue is also fun and kept me engaged. The time it was written in posed no issues. There was nothing "lost in translation". A fun read.

Daring do and betrayal

Sir Percy and his band are up against an old enemy and an entire village is held hostage

Wonderful Sequel

The Scarlet Pimpernel is charming and intriguing historical fiction to rival the longer works of Dumas, and its sequel, The Elusive Pimpernel, lives up to the measure of the first novel. Good to see that I Will Repay, another in this series of books, is available. Would love to see more of Orczy and her Percy Blackeney novels.

Riveting “read!”

Outstanding narration with delightful French pronunciation! Intricately woven plot made it hard to tear myself away for the more mindful tasks of my everyday life. I just wanted to keep listening!

Less Than I Hoped

Having greatly enjoyed "The Scarlet Pimpernel", I was looking forward to an exciting tale of the Scarlet Pimpernel using his wits to extricate himself from a difficult situation. "The Elusive Pimpernel" was exciting, but I found the end did not match up to the first book. But, it kept me entertained and I'm not sorry I read it. The narrator didn't seem to get the Scarlet Pimpernel's voice right, and she used a French accent for some French characters and not for others. But, she pronounced the French well.

Love this sequel story!

Such a fun sequel to the Scarlet Pimpernel! I really enjoyed it (even though Marguerite’s decision to journey to France was a plot device, lol) and love the confrontations and character development within. The only thing I struggled with was the narration. The reader pronounced the french beautifully, but seemed to forget halfway through that Chauvelin was still french and apparently forgot that Marguerite ever was!! That was SO STRANGE! Her read was decent, but that was a very glaring issue to me.