I decided to recommend a book this week. It's one of my favorites but sadly, it's very rare that I find anyone that's heard of it. The book in question is "The Scarlet Pimpernel" by Baroness Orczy. It's historical fiction and is placed during the French Revolution.
As usual, I'm not going to be completely spoiler free, so proceed with whatever degree of caution you deem appropriate.
A Scarlet Pimpernel is actually a flower, but the leader of a daring group of English noblemen has taken up this moniker. The Scarlet Pimpernel is none other than one Sir Percival Blakeney, Baronet, the very last person most would ever suspect. Sir Percy is fashionable and foppish in public and even seems a bit dim. But the truth of the matter is that he's incredibly intelligent and brave, and he and the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel go on daring escapades to rescue French aristocrats from being guillotined.
That's the short summary though. There's actually a lot more going on, including mystery, intrigue and suspense.
I did say that I love this book, right?
Not only is the book wonderful, but I have seen no less than four film adaptations of it (two movies and two miniseries). Plus a movie called "Pimpernel Smith" which has its basis in "The Scarlet Pimpernel." And I have listened to the musical. That isn't including the stage production I co-directed and acted in, as well.
The memories of the time spent working on that play are some of my very fondest. I was able to work on such a fantastic play with an amazing cast. This included a large number of my closest friends, my two fellow co-directors among them.
Of the movie versions, my personal favorite is the 1982 version, starring Anthony Andrews, Jane Seymour and Ian McKellen. And I have to say that Anthony Andrews was perfect as Sir Percy. The role could not have been cast better in my opinion.
As much as I love the movie, which is quite a lot since it's a favorite of mine, I do have an emotional bias in favor of the version my cast pulled off so astoundingly. Not to mention the fact that I had the honor of playing the Scarlet Pimpernel himself and I've never had so much fun with a role as I did with that one.
In addition to having a great book with multiple film versions, the Scarlet Pimpernel also has a rather large number of sequels. Baroness Orczy went on to write many more stories surrounding the Scarlet Pimpernel, his League and their escapades in France. There are also several which don't have Percy and the League as the main characters, but they almost always affect the events of the book in some way. I have read nearly all of these as well and they are wonderful too. Although, I must say I do prefer the ones where Percy and the League are the focus.
Really, this is just a brief overview of what a great story it is. Still, I highly recommend putting "The Scarlet Pimpernel" on your reading list and some of the sequels too!
