In a recent discussion, StarOpal asked if we could help her compile a list of books similar to The Scarlet Pimpernel. We can definitely do that, right?
The Scarlet Pimpernel, if you're not familiar with it, is an adventure series written by Baroness Orczy about a dashing dude full of derring-do who rescues French aristocracy from the guillotine. He disguises himself and hides in plain sight in society as a clueless dingbat, while pulling off all sorts of dashing things.
And of course there's Lauren Willig's Pink Carnation series, beginning with The Secret History of the Pink Carnation ( A | BN | K ), all of which are terrific.
(Wait. My brain just exploded with contemporary gender-flipping of the Pimpernel…. What if the Kardashians are actually spies?)
Karin suggested in the same thread No Ordinary Groom by Gayle Callen ( Goodreads | Amazon | BN | Kobo ):
Arranged marriage, he’s a spy pretending to be a fop.
Well, hello there, my catnip. How you been?
That calls to mind one of my favorites and a previous book club pick: His at Night by Sherry Thomas (Goodreads | Amazon | BN | Kobo). This book is also known as “the Sherry Thomas with the really yellow gold cover.” (I know a few librarians just flinched because, yeah, I am that patron. Sorry.)
That's also an arranged marriage between a woman trying to escape an abusive uncle and a man whom everyone assumes is really, really dumb but really, really isn't.
When he reveals himself… oh, the feels. I had feels hangover after reading it. And it's currently $3.99, too – nice!
What other Pimpernel-y books do you recommend? (And can “Pimper Nelly” be the name of my alt rock cover band?)
@Michelle I absolutely second your rec of King of Attolia, Gen is a wonderfully complex hero who hides his true self for political reasons. I adore him.
Well, I downloaded His At Night from my library yesterday, and stayed up until 2:30 am finishing it. OMG, the best Sherry Thomas book ever! The angst almost killed me.
Now I’m putting As You Desire on my TBR list.
I loved the movie of The Sea Hawk, it’s one in a string of films starring Errol Flynn and directed by Michael Curtiz. They defined what we think of as the classic swashbuckler. They did 12 films together, and you could binge on Curtiz’s films that involve subterfuge and people playing dual roles. The Curtiz/Flynn films include The Adventures of Robin Hood, Captain Blood, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, The Charge of the Light Brigade, Dodge City, and The Sante Fe Trail. Sadly, Flynn and Curtiz had a falling out during the filming of The Adventures of Don Juan so that never got made.
Curtiz also directed The Sea Wolf, although not with Errol Flynn, to make things more confusing. And he also made 8 films with Humphrey Bogart, most famously Casablanca.
Isn’t “The Duke is mine”by Eloisa James inspired by the Scarlet Pimpernel? I have to get hold of the Sea Hawk NOW. What a wonderful thread!!!!
@Karin
ME TOO. I went to sleep around one, and when my alarm I went off, I started reading again instead of hitting the snooze four times like I have built into my schedule.
SO GOOD.
Loretta Chase has another book, Your Scandalous Ways about an English spy and if I remember correctly, a courtesan. Here’s the opening blurb about the book.
“James Cordier is all blueblood and entirely dangerous. He’s a master of disguise, a brilliant thief, a first class lover—all for King and country—and, by gad, he’s so weary of it. His last mission is to “acquire” a packet of incriminating letters from one notorious woman. Then he can return to London, and meet sweet-natured heiresses—not adventuresses and fallen women.”
If I remember this correctly, too, it had the opening line…. “Penises. Everywhere.”
Swashbucker movie: Maureen O’Hara and Paul Heinreid in The Spanish Main.
O’Hara: “Pairing me with Paul Henreid, one of my more decorative roles.”
I start happy-sighing just thinking about this movie.
The Scarlet Tempress by Sue Rich. I wish that book was still in print (best dime I ever spent). Scarlet Pimpernel in the American Colonies, but BOTH the hero and heroine are Sir Percys AND one of a pair of identical twins. So while one person is off Batmaning, the other is acting as Bruce Wayne. Sort of. It’s pretty flipping great in a LOL YOU HAVE TO READ THIS kind of way.
And, because life is full of coincidences, Errol Flynn is swashing a buckle on tv behind me in Captain Blood. LOVE THIS MOVIE!!
@Emily, SOLD on The Scarlet Temptress, which is out of print as you say, but available at Paperbackswap.com. It’s got a crazy stunt horseback riding cover too, the hero has one arm is holding on to the heroine, she’s half hanging off the horse while he’s trying to kiss her, and with the other arm he appears to be dragging his shirt off. Look Ma, no reins.
Brenda Hiatt’s Saint of Seven Dials series is similar, except that the ‘saint’ is much along the lines of the Dread Pirate Roberts (if I recall correctly). I’ve only read the first but it was enjoyable.
I just finished If Wishes Were Earls by Eloisa James a few days ago, and while it isn’t super close to scarlett, the Hero is seen in the first two books as a bumbling idiot but is secretly a spy for the Home Office. In this book he has to figure out who is trying to ruin him and why (he has had a sudden change in fortunes, for the worse).
Patricia Veryan’s Golden Chronicles novels (particularly Journey to Enchantment and The Dedicated Villain) are excellent adventure romances set in Georgian England. Her Jeweled Men series is also a delight. Both series are set shortly following the Jacobite Rebellion, and involve riddles and treasure and plots to destroy England.
Patricia Veryan has no equal when it comes to humor, romance, and adventure. She was named “a worthy successor to Georgette Heyer,” but having written my MA thesis on Heyer’s influence on Veryan, I have to say Veryan surpasses her in writing and plotting skill. Granted, Heyer is famous for her attention to historical details, but she favored obsessively rigid adherence to historical accuracy over solid character development and tight plotting.
Possibly I’m biased due to my disappointment in Heyer’s view of her own readers and her work; she once remarked that her books were drivel, but she supposed they might be nice distractions during an air raid or when one had the flu…
/wanders off to check bookshelf/
Aha. I thought I remembered one, and I’m right: Wings of the Falcon from Barbara Michaels (setting: 1860s Italy), which riffs on the Zorro/Pimpernel plot while simultaneously twitting classic romance via a narrator who’s read the Brontes. Here are the book’s first two sentences:
@John C Bunnell: I went looking for this, as I adore Elizabeth Peters, but could never get into her Michaels books for some reason. But this sounds more along the lines of Amelia Peabody (who was a voracious reader of H Rider Haggard). If anyone’s interested, BN has several of the Michaels at $.99, but not this one, unfortunately.
Just finished “His at night”, what a wonderful read, thanks for the rec!!