Will be later published on The Book Shelf
First Edition of The Secarlet Pimpernel
I am afraid that "The Scarlet Pimpernel" was a tiresome book for my eyes, brain, and soul:
Baroness Orczy's novel of the French Revolution was less exiting than I expected--in my opinion the film was better (starring Jane Seymore).
The Baroness repeated words which tired me, and I often felt that I would doze off in boredom.
As I have pointed out, I was expecting the novel to be much better, but found it a let down.
In coming to my attention and evidence, I found that Baroness Emuska Orczy was predjudice against the jewish race, with the proof of endnote twenty*: [as follows in exact wording] "(p. 203] an elderly Jew: In this description, Orczy no doubt draws on the literary stereotype of Jews as they were portrayed in novels of the proceding century. This highly negitive characterization, under the guise of realism, also conveys the predjudices not only of society but of those of Orczy herself."
This takes away much respect for Orczy, but she was not exterminating the Lord's people, as would happen about forty years later.
During the reading of this book I had only one thought on my mind, that is, "When would it be finished?"
But apart from this, I found a quote that I quite enjoyed: (P. 1 of the "real"** novel) "A surging, seething, murmuring croud of beings that are human only in name,..."
This is true-:
France's "Republic" was human only in name, but I find it quite shocking that Orczy would write this, when she was anti-Jew. By that, I mean that France was agaist the nobility and she was against Jews.
But I shant write of the author's life choices, but will give you the ending result:
When I found I had a pen near, I scrawled the word "Dumb" on the closed pages of the book, which most likely explaines this book.
*Barnes and Noble edition
** By the phrase "the 'real' novel" I mean apart from the new introduction &c., &c.
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