The author of the Scarlet Pimpernel was Baroness Orczy (lived 1865-1947), a Hungarian noble who spent her life in Britain, and was, as can be expected from her book, a firm royalist. The Scarlett Pimpernel was her first big hit, it being immensely popular, so much so it helped set the stage for modern super hero stories. It takes place during the French Revolution, specifically looking at the English nobility and how they saw the revolution. Obviously, they didn’t like the idea of nobles being killed. The first part of the book centers around rumors of a hero who was rescuing French royalty from the guillotine, and bringing them to England. This hero is known only as the Scarlet Pimpernel, the name of a common English flower. The villain, a French dignitary, tries to find out who the Pimpernel is, but due to his (the hero’s) clever disguises and acting, he (the villain) doesn’t manage it. He does still set a trap for the Pimpernel though, and feeling remorse for her helping the villain, the hero’s wife, (and the story’s narrator) goes to help him escape the trap. With this help, the Scarlet Pimpernel rescues more french nobles and cleverly evades the villain.
A Tale of Two Cities is a book by Charles Dickens (lived 1812-1870), a very famous English author who has written many books, including a Christmas Carol. A Tale of Two Cities is set during the French Revolution. The story started with a woman in England learning that her father wasn’t dead and had actually been in prison for the duration of her life. He had been released and they left for England to live happily ever-after. On the boat to England they met Charles Darnay, a french noble who left his wealth because it sickened him to tread on the poor people. Him and the daughter end up together, causing a bit of heartache to Charles’ English lookalike, Sydney Carton, an unsuccessful drunkard, who continually finds more reasons to be depressed. The French Revolution takes place while Darnay is away, and he goes back out of an extremely inapropriate sense of patriotism, abandoning his wife and child. Despite the best efforts of his wife and father-in-law, he is slated for the executioners block, and is only saved by the sacrifice of his good friend Carton.
Both of these books were good, and I do recommend them, but if you really like one, you’ll probably not be exited about the other, as they’re so different in writing styles. The Scarlet Pimpernel is extremely straight-forward and basic, with simple words used and uncomplicated descriptions of people and things, and direct explanations given for anything that could be seen as confusing. A Tale, however, was extremely complex and convoluted, with strange and unrelated descriptions of people and things, and I think Dickens decided that, if you needed an explanation for something, you shouldn’t be reading the book. They both had the same take on the French, though, as both authors were British (at least in mindset) and thought them horrible, and while Orczy made the nobles look innocent, at least Charles acknowledged their guilt, he just thought the revolutionaries were over-enthusiastic. Both books were good, but if you prefer a more simple book, then you should read The Scarlet Pimpernel, and if you like more complex books, you should read A Tale of Two Cities.
School Essays 