Scaramouche (Scaramouche, #1) in Retro Reads

Aug 27, 2015 Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: gutenberg-freebie, classics, historical-fiction, france

4.5 stars for this swashbuckling historical novel, written in 1921 by Rafael Sabatini, set during French Revolution times in the late 1700s. Andre-Louis Moreau is a young lawyer of unknown parentage, but has a protective godfather, Quentin de Kercadiou, a local lord in Brittany, France. Andre-Louis is very fond of de Kercadiou’s niece Aline, so when he finds out she’s planning on accepting a proposal from the Marquis de la Tour d'Azyr for practical reasons, not love, he’s deeply disappointed. Th ...more

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Feb 23, 2015 Marquise rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction, to-review

A stupendous adventure novel!

It's been a while since I've enjoyed a swashbuckler, mostly because the adventures often are overly melodramatic in the classics, but this one has just the exact amount to be enjoyable and not off-putting, and since the character at one point becomes an actual Comédie actor playing the role of the buffoon, whatever histrionics there are in the plot doesn't feel out of place and goes well with the main lead's personality. And Sabatini does establish the personality o A stupendous adventure novel!

It's been a while since I've enjoyed a swashbuckler, mostly because the adventures often are overly melodramatic in the classics, but this one has just the exact amount to be enjoyable and not off-putting, and since the character at one point becomes an actual Comédie actor playing the role of the buffoon, whatever histrionics there are in the plot doesn't feel out of place and goes well with the main lead's personality. And Sabatini does establish the personality of his hero, André-Louis Moreau, right from the opening line:

He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad.

The adventures of the character are divided in three parts that correspond deftly with each of the three different roles André-Louis has to play over the course of two years, when he has to flee his birthplace in Brittany as a result of his best friend´s death in an unjust duel at the hands of Gervais, Marquis de La Tour d'Azyr, which compels him to become a rabble-rousing political orator to antagonise the populace against the region's nobility, the most powerful of which is M. le Marquis, events that are covered in Part I. The second part, which lends its name to the book, tells his adventures as an errant comedian/playwright in a travelling theatre troupe, and was by far my favourite part of the book, and the one I'd have wanted to be longer. I also consider that was the time when André-Louis was happier, even falling in love (. . . so he thinks). But of course that couldn't last for long, and he has to flee again, become a fencing legend and retake his original work as a political representative during the months before and during the French Revolution.

What I appreciated the most was the excellent storytelling and the pace, which is generally fast save in some places where the political situation is discussed in somewhat lengthy dialogue. I also liked the hero's characterisation as a fool on the outside whilst being well-rounded and smart on the inside, and that he is opposed to an antagonist that, for once, isn't black-and-white but rather surprisingly nuanced for the usual type of villains that populate these types of stories, and the rivalry between Moureau and La Tour d'Azyr never loses momentum, ending in a surprise twist by the end. This is, as I've stressed on, an adventure story, but there's serious topics included in it as well relating to the ongoing social upheaval in France, which was also a point in its favour. ...more

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Jan 26, 2015 Hana rated it really liked it

Shelves: kindle, buddy-reads, 18th-19th-century, classics, 2015-reads, historical-fiction

I just finished and loved to distraction The Beloved Vagabond by William J. Locke. Paragot, the main character, reminded me of the first line in Scaramouche "He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad." ...more

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Jan 19, 2018 Susan in NC rated it really liked it · review of another edition

4.5 stars. Wow! What an exciting ride...I really enjoyed this fast-paced, exciting adventure set during the French Revolution. If I hadn’t read this along with the Goodreads Retro Reads group for our January group read, I doubt if I would’ve picked it up on my own - and that would’ve been a shame. I want to try new (to me) authors and books in 2018, and this is a delightful group to do that with.

I can also use this book for the Book For All Seasons challenge, reading a book set during a revoluti 4.5 stars. Wow! What an exciting ride...I really enjoyed this fast-paced, exciting adventure set during the French Revolution. If I hadn’t read this along with the Goodreads Retro Reads group for our January group read, I doubt if I would’ve picked it up on my own - and that would’ve been a shame. I want to try new (to me) authors and books in 2018, and this is a delightful group to do that with.

I can also use this book for the Book For All Seasons challenge, reading a book set during a revolution!

I didn’t know what to expect, but thought it might be very swashbuckling, which would have been a turn-off; and as one of our group pointed out, the title “Scaramouche” brought the Queen song Bohemian Rhapsody to mind, and now I know who Scaramouche was at least! I listened to the audiobook and read along on the kindle edition, which was very satisfying. Simon Vance was the narrator, and his beautiful voice, flawless French pronunciation and wonderful characterizations of both male and female characters added so much to my enjoyment, and made the book really fly by. Sabatini’s excellent writing helped; it wasn’t cheesy or melodramatic, as I feared, and he gave us an unusual and amazing hero in Andre Louis Moreau.

The dialogue was very well done and moved the action forward, even though the beginning, with the necessity of laying the groundwork of politics and philosophy that would spark and fuel the revolution and hence, the driving conflict between Andre Louis and his nemesis, the Marquis de la Tour d’Azyr, dragged a bit. It took a while to draw me in, but once the conflict was established and our hero, a self-deprecating but witty country lawyer was on his way trying to make his way in the world, first as an actor in a traveling theater troupe and then as a fencing master, before being drawn back into the world of revolutionary politics, I was hooked!

The ending was romantic and exciting and not wholly unexpected, but satisfying. I can see why it’s considered Sabatini’s masterpiece! ...more

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Jan 31, 2018 Katy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Delightful fun little swashbuckling romance.

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May 17, 2008 Barb in Maryland rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, oldies-but-goodies

A classic swashbuckler of the French Revolution. Great fun.
Re-read 1/20/2018

I first read this as a young teen--oh the adventure! the romance! The politics--not so much.
It has been 50 years or so since I last read it. Now I found that, while I still liked the romance and the adventure, the politics were what interested me more. Sabatini did a great job bringing to life the strife, chaos, politically charged atmosphere of the early days of the French Revolution. He deftly name-dropped a number of ...more

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Apr 17, 2009 Misfit rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

Andre-Louis Moreau, parentage unknown, is brought as an infant to a small village in Brittany where his support and education is supplied by his "god-father" M. de Kercadiou, and everyone assumes Kercadiou to be Andre's father from the wrong side of the blanket. Andre grows up with church-bound Philippe, as well as Kercadiou's beauteous niece Aline. Aline is preparing to accept the suit for her hand in marriage to the much older Marquis de la Tour d'Azyr, but tragedy strikes when the Marquis ins Andre-Louis Moreau, parentage unknown, is brought as an infant to a small village in Brittany where his support and education is supplied by his "god-father" M. de Kercadiou, and everyone assumes Kercadiou to be Andre's father from the wrong side of the blanket. Andre grows up with church-bound Philippe, as well as Kercadiou's beauteous niece Aline. Aline is preparing to accept the suit for her hand in marriage to the much older Marquis de la Tour d'Azyr, but tragedy strikes when the Marquis insults Philippe who then challenges him to a duel. Angered, Andre vows to seek revenge against the evil Marquis, but he's soon in a pickle of his own when he incites a mob and he becomes a wanted man. Desperate and penniless, he soon latches his star onto a traveling group of play-actors (including the feisty Climine) and he hides himself behind the mask of the buffoon, Scaramouche.

Andre and his nemesis cross paths again when the Marquis seduces Climine with jewels and promises of riches. An angry Andre incites a riot at the theatre and once more he's on the run. This time he lands in Paris and finds work assisting fencing master M. des Amis with his students as the revolution against the monarchy continues to heat up and fencing skills are in high demand.

Taking over the school upon the death of the owner, Andre becomes well to do, his education as a lawyer suits him well and he's asked to join the new government - with the express purpose of inciting the former nobles into duels - including the now former Marquis. Just who parented Andre and what impact will it have on their lives now? Can Andre rescue Aline from Paris as madness descends and the Tuileries is attacked by a furious mob intent on destroying the aristocracy?

While I enjoyed the book a lot, I did find the first half to be rather slow, especially the bits where Andre is involved with the acting group - I think that comes off better in the Hollywood version. Things did pick up when he got to Paris, although the method of using supposed old letters of Andre's recounting the events of the Revolution was a bit more on the telling than showing side. It's a good book, just not a great one for me. 3.5/5 stars. ...more

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