The Scarlet Pimpernel

“They seek him here, they seek him there
Those Frenchies seek him everywhere
Is he in heaven or is he in hell?
That demned elusive Pimpernel”

The Scarlet Pimpernel is my favorite book of all time. I may have said many books are my favorite, but this title is what pops into my head if someone asks me, "What's your favorite book?"

I discovered a Scarlet Pimpernel "omnibus" (a collection of four Scarlet Pimpernel novels) at the Kearney Public library when I was around thirteen. Baroness Emma “Emmuska” Orczy wrote several SP novels, but the first is the most well-known.

I remember the first time I read it -  and I loved it from the beginning. I reread it once a year. Recently, someone asked me why do I re-read books, if I already know what's going to happen? Why do we watch the same movie again, if we've already seen it? Because it’s a great movie, entertaining, or a great story? That's exactly why reread books. Plus, in this book, there a are a couple of favorite scenes that I look forward to with happy anticipation.

An Englishman, Sir Percy Blakeney, was a fine young stylish gentleman living in London at the time of the French Revolution. He was married to beautiful Marguerite St. Just, of France; she was a very popular actress in Paris, before he swooped in and carried her to England. 

Through a series of unfortunate events before they were married, Marguerite accidentally condemned an innocent man to the guillotine. Percy found out days after they were married, and this caused a deep chasm in their marriage. He no longer trusted her. She thought she had had him on the end of a string, but alas, she did not. They carried on, living separate lives under the same roof.

You see, Sir Percy led a double life. He was the famous Scarlet Pimpernel - the daring vigilante who snatched innocent men, women, and children from the clutches of Madame Guillotine. His darling wife had no clue. He had twenty followers, men ready to follow his orders, whatever they might be. They would lay down their lives, if needed, for the cause. 

One of my favorite chapters is the one in which Blakeney and Chauvelin (a French spy intent on capturing Percy and bringing him to the guillotine) collide in a small inn along the coast of France. Percy has just crossed they channel, planning to rescue Armand St. Just (Marguerite's brother).

They encounter each other while dinner is being served, some rancid-looking soup that was actually quite tasty, and they ended up sitting across from each other. The inn was dark and dirty. Marguerite was hiding upstairs watching events transpire. (For by then, she'd figured out who her husband really was, and had crossed the English Channel, planning to warn him of Chauvelin.) 

Neither one of them played their cards. Chauvelin acted like a friend, making small talk. Percy enjoed some soup. As Orczy writes of  Percy, “He was calmly eating his soup, laughing with pleasant good-humour, as if he had come all the way to Calais for the express purpose of enjoying supper at this filthy inn, in the company of his arch-enemy.” 

As they sat there talking, Chauvelin was mostly distracted by thinking of a way to capture his prey. Percy quietly took Chauvelin's snuff-box, emptying the contents onto the hearth, deftly replacing it with the contents of the pepper shaker. (Snuff is a finely ground tobacco that was inhaled for a small hit of nicotine, very common for this time period.)

Chauvelin, not paying much attention, clearly, took a large hit of his 'snuff' and instantly collapsed into a truly horrible fit of sneezing. His world was upside down, he had no control of his body, he was as a man possessed. In the midst of this chaos erupting across from him, Percy calmly stood up, laid money on the table for the innkeeper, and strode confidently into the black night.

There are many more fantastic chapters; but you'll have to read the rest for yourself. ;-)

This post is part of the 31 Days of Bibliophilia series.