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.

Recent Read: "Wurzel Flummery" by A. A. Milne

This play was really fun to read. I'm on a roll with Milne! I can't believe how successful he his at so many genres--comedy, children's stories, mystery, and fairytale. This play was really funny and a really creative plot. I would want to perform it for a talent show or something!

Recent Read: "The Red House Mystery" by A. A. Milne

This book was AMAZING. Proof: I finished reading it myself one day and the next started it all over again, aloud, with my husband. It's refreshingly different than Holmes stories, and Milne even makes fun of how the characters are pretending to be Holmes. I really like how he doesn't take himself too seriously. It's a battle of wits, but in the middle I had no idea what was going to happen and started getting really nervous! I think that's the refreshing part. We know Holmes so much, but I didn't know what Milne would do with his characters, which really kept me on the edge of my seat.

Recent Read: Once on a Time by A. A. Milne

If you only think of Winnie the Pooh when you hear A. A. Milne's name, you are missing out! We read some of his essays in one of my creative non-fiction classes, and I just ran across this book. It is ridiculous and pure fun. I LOVED how and who the princess marries in the end.

Recent Read: The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy

I'm hooked! I had heard that the sequels weren't very good, but I just like that there's more Pimpernel to enjoy! This book was really fun. It's a collection of "short stories"--but some long short stories that are like 10 chapters long. It felt like a collection of superhero adventures, and I loved it. They used some of the small episodes in the Jane Seymour movie, which, again, made me like the movie a little more. I think I'm going to move on to the fourth book really soon!

Find My OLL Review Here

I wrote a review to help the Office of Letters and Light and National Novel Writing Month earn some money. Check out my review here. I LOVE NaNoWriMo and plan to be a regular. Love, love, love!

Recent Read: El Dorado by Baroness Orczy

The greatest mystery about this book is the title. I still don't get it, but oh well. 
 
This book is really what the Jane Seymour movie is based on, which makes me like the movie a little more but also took out all the surprises from the book. 

What really struck me in reading this book is how Orczy's romances are about married people. The Blakeneys and the Ffoulkes are passionately in love, which is so refreshing. Most love stories are about single people, but Orczy believes in true love even after marriage. I love the ending of this book when Marguerite thinks they have died and Percy laughs.

If you have never read the first Scarlet Pimpernel book, get yourself a copy right away. It's a must!

Recent Read: Into the Labyrinth by Roderick Townley

This is the sequel to The Great Good Thing. I love the first book. This one was okay. I loved being back in The Great Good Thing. Going into the internet was very imaginative. I love the part about cookies and how a computer looks from the other side of the monitor. It may not have been life changing, but it was a fun read.

Recent Read: Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell

One of my friends recommended this to me as her favorite Gaskell book. It felt a lot like Cranford but with more of a streamlined plot. Even the Miss Brownings in Wives and Daughters are pretty much the same characters as the Miss Jenkyns in Cranford. Wives and Daughters also felt a lot like Pride and Prejudice, if the latter were about Jane instead of Lizzy. Molly is a sweet character and has moments of fire-ups, which gives me hope for her. Gaskell is pretty predictable in this book, but it was a pleasant read. Most of all, I really enjoyed imagining Colin Firth as Mr. Gibson, Molly's father. I think the scene when Rodger leaves for Africa for the second time is going to be one of my favorite scenes in all literature.