The Last Adventure of the Scarlet Pimpernel

Book Two of Jane Austen's Fighting Men

By: Jack Caldwell

Narrated by: Jo Ashe

The worlds of Jane Austen and the Baroness Orczy combine in a swashbuckling tale from the author of The Three Colonels.

Captain Frederick Tilney, dashing cavalry officer and rakish heir to Northanger Abbey, is interested only in fencing and enjoying himself. That is, until he meets the girl of his dreams, the lovely and intriguing Violet Blakeney.

However, her father is not convinced of Frederick's pledge to reform and the officer is banished from Violet’s presence. The baronet has a will of iron, for he is none other than Sir Percy Blakeney - the retired Scarlet Pimpernel!

Now, during the Hundred Days Crisis, an evil from the Pimpernel's past menaces the Blakeney family while Sir Percy is crippled by age. Frederick must convince the baronet to accept his assistance in accomplishing the impossible - take on an entire country to recuse the girl they both love.

©2016 Jack Caldwell (P)2019 Jack Caldwell

Narrator

Think the female narrator ruined the story, with the main characters being male I think a male narrator would have been. Percy, George, and Fredericks voices sounded like girls and just changed the characters. Otherwise I liked the story.

Romance, adventure and redemption

This book is a tribute to Jane Austen's novels and to the Scarlet Pimpernel books by Baroness Orczy, and a companion novel to the author's earlier book "The Three Colonels". The hero is one of Jane Austen's villains, Captain Frederick Tilney from Northanger Abbey, the heroine is Violet Blakeney, the daughter of Sir Percy Blakeney who used to be the mysterious Scarlet Pimpernel, daring rescuer of French aristocrats from the guillotine during the time of the revolutionary terror in France. The story is about Frederick's redemption (he used to lead a life of irresponsiblity, flirting with women, duels and general recklessness), and the way he earns the respect of his beloved's father and the right to fight alongside the renowned hero in his last adventure. The author weaves the characters of Jane Austen, Baroness Orczy and his own earlier book seamlessly together, allowing the reader the joy of meeting these beloved characters again in a new tale of adventure, honor and romance. The historical events of Napoleon's escape from Elba and the renewed war efforts leading up to the battle of Waterloo provide an excellent background and reason to another rescue mission to France. I very much appreciated the scenes of friendship and family - Frederick and Sir John Buford, Frederick and George Blakeney, Frederick and Henry Tilney with his wife Cathy, and above all, the Blakeney family: the warm relationship between Marguerite and Sir Percy, now without the strain his secret mission placed on them during the Pimpernel novels; and the father-daughter and mother-daughter scenes. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to any Regency, Jane Austen and Scarlet Pimpernel fans. The narration was excellent too: illustrating the emotions and relationships, enlivening the tale, and in general providing a great listening experience and another way to enjoy this outstanding story.