Customer Reviews

I Will Repay

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4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Imagine falling in love with the one person whose life you've sworn to destroy. That's the story of Juliette Marny in this thrilling continuation of the SP series. Having taken a blood oath to avenge her brother's accidental death, Juliette betrays the popular Citizen-Deputy Paul Derolede only to discover that he is the only man she will ever love. Of course, our favorite hero, Sir Percy steps in to help Juliette out of her jam when all hope seems lost. But will our elusive pimpernel acutally succeed this time? This book contains page after page of suspense you won't want to put down!

Although Percy only appears briefly in this book, Marguerite only as imagined by Percy, and Chauvelin not at all, this book is definately worthy of it's predicessor. A young girl is bound by an oath forced on her by a mentally unstable father to avenge the murder of her brother in 1783. Ten years later, her intended victim rescues her from a mob and she secures the oppertunity to denounce her sworn enemy to the Committee of Public Safety, only to discover that she has fallen in love with him. This book only lacks one thing the rest of the series has: Chauvelin.

This book is great for a few reasons, namely that it focuses more on someone OTHER than the Pimpernel (don't get me wrong -he's cool, too, but it's not really his story).

This time, SP is only a help in a story where Juliette Marny (the heroine) is determined to right a wrong done to her brother (alas, deceased). When the opportunity comes, she takes it, only to find that she has fallen for the man she swore to bring down. So does it work out?

It all takes a little thinking, some tender memories and lots of pluck from Sir Percy, our heroine and her beloved, with Chauvelin and the revolutionary tribunal on their heels to make a great read.

What do you do when your greatest hate becomes your greatest love? Over the body of her dead brother, Juliette Marny's father has made her swear a blood oath. But, upon fulfilling her duties, she realizes all too late that she is in love. Now, she will sacrifice her name and honor to save him from the guillotine.

In this novel, Sir Percy is a supporting character who is both "the savior" and "the voice of reason." Percy argues that idealizing a woman is not, in reality, loving her in the truest sense. "Fall at the feet of your idol an you wish, but drag her down to your level after that--the only level she should ever reach, that of your heart."

I WILL REPAY, a sequel to Orczy's novel THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL, is a delightful romp through fields of adventure, danger, betrayal, daring rescue, and true love. Orczy's weaving of the love motif amidst the events of the plot, events that threaten at any moment to bring down the wrath of Robespierre's Committee of Public Safety upon our protagonists, a wrath that would inevitably and quickly lead them to the guillotine, is adroitly done. Her weaving integrates threads of misunderstanding, misinterpretation, and erroneous conclusion with those of attraction, trust, adoration, and longing to produce a tapestry replete with the darkness of betrayal and the brightness of redemption.

As in THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL, women in I WILL REPAY are both the cause of the novel's crisis and the reward after its resolution. Juliette Marny's naivete and innocence in the ways of the world lead her to agree to a terrible oath when her brother is killed, in a fair fight one must note, by Paul Deroulede. Her unquestioning religious beliefs overcome her yet immature judgement and compassion and give that oath, taken many years earlier, the upper hand and lead to the denouncement of Deroulede to the deadly Committee of Public Safety in revolutionary France.

Juliette is not the only character to suffer from the "weakness of a woman's heart." The strange, malformed little Anne Mie contrives to betray Juliette just as Juliette betrays Deroulede. While Orczy's women are the betrayers and instigators in these novels, none is of truly evil disposition. Their betrayals are the result of their "feminine weakness," a characteristic that may appear strange to a 21st century reader who is accustomed to seeing contemporary women as at least equal to men if not, in many cases, their superiors. However, such was not the case when Baroness Orczy wrote in the early 20th century and was certainly not the norm in 18th century France, historical exceptions such as Joan of Arc notwithstanding. Orczy's women, therefore, are weak and are subject to all the frailties in judgement of their sex, but they are as much innocent victims of this as are those whom they betray because of those frailties.

After the multiple misunderstandings and betrayals, we find both Juliette Marny and Paul Deroulede condemned by the court, in the cart surrounded by the National Guard, and en route to prison, through which they will quickly pass to the embrace of Madame Guillotine. How can they possibly escape? Readers who have already made the acquaintance of the Scarlet Pimpernel in Orczy's novel of that name will understand that very little is beyond the wiles of this Englishman bent on thumbing his nose at the revolutionary government by spiriting its prey to the safety of his own country. His swashbuckling plan to rescue the condemned is the epitome of derring-do and is fully worthy of this surprising English gentleman.

If I find anything in this novel to rebuke, it may be Orczy's incessant painting of the revolutionary government and of the Parisian mobs in the darkest, filthiest, and most noisome colors she can create. Not to sound as an apologist for the horrors of the First Republic, but I did find the constant portrayal of its proponents as the most loathsome and nastiest of creatures to be annoying after a time. In this regard, Orczy not only made her point early but kept making it at every turn in the story. The plot would not have suffered from a little less vehemence and less heavy-handedness in her descriptions.

One can find, amidst the swashbuckling adventure of this novel, a few moral lessons, too, especially one relating to the title. It is Juliette's oath, which she allows to supercede God's injunction to leave vengeance to Him, that is the root of the major crises in the story. Of course, had she followed God's word, rather than that of her dying and revenge-bent father, there would have been no story.

I am reminded that the first novel in the Pimpernel genre was originally written as a stage play. It is an easy transformation to see I WILL REPAY recast as a play as well, and it would be a most entertaining diversion. In either case, whether reading it in its actual form as a novel or playing it on the stage in one's mind, one will enjoy the experience of being in the audience as Baroness Orczy's story unfolds.

For anyone that has read the other Scarlet Pimpernel books, you must read this one. It's in the same sprit as the others, but it concerns a Citizen-Deputy for Revolutionary France and a daughter of a aristo. If you have read "The Elusive Pimpernel", you will know about Juliette Marny. This is her story. Although Sir Percy plays a smaller part in this book than any of the others, since it is concerned with Juliette and Paul, he is there and of course comes to the rescue of these two just in time. It might get off to a little bit of a slow start but it picks up very nicely. Overall, a very good addition to anyone's library that loves the Pimpernel series.

This book captures the feeling of France during the revolutionary years. It has a tense feeling of excitement and although old, it is still a good read for today. The language is easy to follow and not at all complicated. In the story we again follow the escapades of the Scarlet Pimpernel as he tries to free the French aristocrats from prison. In this book a young girls bent on revenge leads the republican Chauvelin to the heart of the league of the Scarlet Pimpernel, with some disastrous effects. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and could not put it down, even though I am only 14!

I Will Repay by Baroness Orczy. Published by MobileReference (mobi).

What do you do when your greatest hate becomes your greatest love? Over the body of her dead brother, Juliette Marny's father has made her swear a blood oath. But, upon fulfilling her duties, she realizes all too late that she is in love. Now, she will sacrifice her name and honor to save him from the guillotine.

I did enjoy this book and it is a wonderful example of Percy's---well, being adorable. But he is a minor character in respect to the book and I find myself wishing there was more of him. There is only a brief mention of Marguerite and perhaps I'm just in love with those two, but I want more.

As in the previous review, this is a gift for a friend's daughter but I'm sure it will be appreciated. Also, it came in excellent condition. Merry CHRISTmas!