10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
We seek him here, we seek him there..., November 19, 2002
Okay, for those of you Pimpernel fanatics, this is the sixth book of the Pimpernel series. Our dear flirtatious Lord Anthony Dewhurst has fallen in love with a certain Yvonne de Kernogan. However, her father the Duc, and a vengeful peasant have other matrimonial plans for her. After some clever spying work, Sir Percy urges Lord Tony to marry Yvonne secretly. Things go all wrong when she is kidnapped shortly after the wedding, and Lord Tony must look to the Scarlet Pimpernel to help save his wife. Things are, of course, made difficult with Monsieur Chambertin...er, Chauvelin... on the trail.
Extremely entertaining and a great book!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Less Invective + More Involved Plot, + Developed Characters = A Better Novel, July 3, 2006
LORD TONY'S WIFE is, I believe, the fifth book (or thereabouts) in the series written in the early 20th century by Baroness Orczy around the character of the Scarlet Pimpernel, that English adventurer, master of disguise, embodiment of bravado, and pillar of strength, whose self-appointed mission it is to rescue former aristocrats from the fell clutches of the Committee of Public Safety in late 18th century post-Revolutionary France. Should he fail, the bloodied guillotine shall claim yet another victim.
This book, however, shows what we might describe as a maturing of Orczy's style and a welcome variation on what was becoming a highly predictable plot in her earlier novels. Heretofore, Orczy has veritably hammered her readers with unceasing imprecations against the revolutionaries who overthrew a monarchy to establish the First Republic in France. Not to pardon the excesses and numerous beheadings practiced by the leaders of the late 18th century Republic, but Orczy's constant references to them as terrorists, thugs, murderers, villains, traitors and such like were becoming quite worn after four books of repetitive and caustic diatribe. Chauvelin, an agent of the revolutionary government and the Pimpernel's antagonist, was portrayed as nothing less than a minion of Satan. The negative hyperbole throughout the first four novels was becoming tedious, to say the least.
While the reader of LORD TONY'S WIFE still meets Chauvelin in his role of villainous antagonist, he is now only one of several. Likewise, while the revolutionary government is still portrayed as a pestilential blight upon the land and its people, Orczy has somewhat tired of battering her readers with unending string of imprecations against that government. The relief is palpable (at least until we get to the character of Carrier in the latter pages of the novel, when the hyperbolic strings of pejorative adjectives come alive again).
Orczy's characters seem more fully rounded and less stereotyped in this novel than in her earlier efforts, with, perhaps, the noted exception of Carrier. As such, they are more interesting, and the motivations for their actions evolve from their participation in actual events rather than resulting purely from their stereotyped natures. They are more believable as real people. One of the most enjoyable changes in this novel is that we no longer see our hapless lady fall into peril because of her essential "feminine weakness." While our fair lady does indeed fall into peril and must be rescued by the Scarlet Pimpernel as usual, this time it is in no way her fault. In fact, she is betrayed by her own father, who in turn has been beguiled by a clever plot laid by peasant Pierre Adet, or rather by his rich alter ego, the banker Martin-Roget.
In sum, the plot elements in LORD TONY'S WIFE are more complex and interesting than are those in the previous four novels, the characters are more rounded and less stereotyped, and the descriptions of the revolutionaries against whom the Pimpernel must pit his cunning are less stridently negative, all of which makes this the most interesting book of the series thus far. With that praise deservedly awarded, we must also admit that Orczy's novels remain primarily adventures written to entertain through their plot and action. As a writer, Orczy fits much more securely in the pulp fiction category than with the likes of Melville and Conrad, or even Rafael Sabatini (to include the swashbuckling genre).
I'm not quite certain just why her first work, THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL, garnered so much popularity that it generated these sequels, but the name is well known, which is probably sufficient justification for reading the novel (originally a play) and its sequels. And please don't give up if the first three sequels seem repetitive and predictable. When you reach the fourth, LORD TONY'S WIFE, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at its comparative improvement in quality. Judged by nothing more than its entertainment value, the novel would probably extract five stars from me, but I just can't quite give the top rating to a plot-dependent adventure novel, no matter how much improved over its predecessors.
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