Recent Read: "Kidnapped" by Robert Lewis Stevenson

This might be the first complete Stevenson novel that I've ever read (dare I confess this much?). It's was interesting because for Stevenson this was a historical novel already, so for us it's really old. His language is kind of slow and wordy, but I really liked all the Scottish accent stuff. I loved the kidnapping, the shipwreck, and the lone man on an island parts at the beginning, but then we spent the middle hundred pages running through the Highland hills. That was pretty laborious, and the ending was just a neat tie-up (could Alan have at least run off with the barmaid or something???).


Overall, I enjoyed it, but it might be a while before I read it again, and I don't plan on attempting to read it aloud ever again! I have a lot of respect for Stevenson, though. I heard one of my favorite professors give a speech about him several months ago, and I know there is plenty more to appreciate!

Recent Read: "The Elusive Pimpernel" by Baroness Orczy

Yes, I'm a little obsessed. But I was happy to find that this is a full novel instead of a collection of stories. I really like being in Marguerite's perspective more, unlike the beginning of El Dorado. 
 
Come to find out, I should have read this and a couple of other of the books before El Dorado, which makes everything make a lot more sense, especially the title of El Dorado. It's all coming together better now, and I recommend reading them in the right order! 

One thing that was really cool in The Elusive Pimpernel is how Orczy grapples with the question of where God is during all these atrocities by making the priest Marguerite's close friend. Marguerite and Percy both speak of God reverently and faithfully, but the priest's faith is too naive. You feel that God expects good people do to good things even during troubled times in addition to praying. I like how Orczy touches on this without preaching or making it a main point.

I really liked this book a lot. It hits the "to read aloud with my husband" list, which is pretty good. It's too bad that the movie ruined El Dorado for me, so I liked how this book still had surprises.

The last thing I have to say is that Marguerite and Percy's relationship is one of the most beautiful in all literature. Here's just one quote "agony of joy." It thrills me! I am just crazy about their deep, passionate romance as husband and wife. It is beautiful!

The Scarlet Pimpernel Disambiguated

So come to find out there are really 18 Scarlet Pimpernel books and Baroness Orczy wrote a ton of other novels as well! I was really confused when I was reading The Elusive Pimpernel and it became clear that El Dorado hadn't happened yet. So here is they all are in "reading order" (chronological within the story, not in the order Orczy wrote them) to help you out.

These first two novels are about the Scarlet Pimpernel’s ancestors:
• The Laughing Cavalier (1913)

• The First Sir Percy (1920)

Then we have the main block of Scarlet Pimpernel stories:
• The Scarlet Pimpernel (play 1903, novel 1905)
• Sir Percy Leads the Band (1936)
• The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1919)
• I Will Repay (1906)
• The Elusive Pimpernel (1908)
• Eldorado (1913)
• Mam'zelle Guillotine (1940)
• Lord Tony's Wife (1917)
• The Way of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1933)
• Sir Percy Hits Back (1927)
• Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1929)
• The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1922)
• A Child of the Revolution (1932)

Finally, these last three books are about (or “written” by) the Scarlet Pimpernel’s descendants:
• The Pimpernel and Rosemary (1924)
• The Life and Exploits of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1938)
• The Scarlet Pimpernel Looks at the World (1933)

Well, I hope that helps you, and it looks like I'm going to be reading about the Scarlet Pimpernel for a very long time. I'm so excited. Thank you, Baroness Orczy, for writing so much! Also, there's a super Scarlet Pimpernel everything website that includes electronic versions of all the books: blakeneymanor.com. Check it out.