The Last Adventure of the Scarlet Pimpernel (Jane Austen's Fighting Men, #2) in Austen Variations

Jul 12, 2016 Sheila Majczan rated it it was amazing

What an adventure! I had tears in my eyes as we reached the climax and conclusion and the Scarlet Pimpernel took his final bow as such. Some of what made this so dramatic is that this man, who is advancing in age and despite his regular attention to his fencing abilities, etc., is suffering from the affects of rheumatism. I was holding my breath as he initially refuses any help and goes off the face the enemy in France basically alone. But plans changed and it all came together in an excellent v What an adventure! I had tears in my eyes as we reached the climax and conclusion and the Scarlet Pimpernel took his final bow as such. Some of what made this so dramatic is that this man, who is advancing in age and despite his regular attention to his fencing abilities, etc., is suffering from the affects of rheumatism. I was holding my breath as he initially refuses any help and goes off the face the enemy in France basically alone. But plans changed and it all came together in an excellent variation. Jack’s writing is superb: his knowledge of fencing, his use of French phrases and history all kept this story so real to someone who has none of those skills but who appreciates having them written is a way that brought them to life.

The story begins slowly and builds as Jack brings a large percentage of Jane Austen’s characters into this mash-up with the Scarlet Pimpernel and history around the time of Waterloo. I was laughing at some of the characters: Lady Susan’s cuckolded husband sitting next to her lover, who is skillfully draining the man’s pockets, Henry and Catherine Tilney nee: Morland giving advice to a love stricken man, M/M Darcy, Caroline Bingley and her husband, Sir John Buford. And, hats off to Jack, I loved the way he took Captain Frederick Tilney, a rake with few morals in Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey and slowly led him to reform his character, a step forward and then two steps back. The realism of this connected so strongly for me.

Sir Percy Blakeney and his wife, Lady Marguerite, are still so much in love. I had not read the book, The Scarlet Pimpernel, in the past, but in anticipation of this, Jack’s latest book, did so and the one scene in which he bends down and kisses the spots on which Margot had walked away still resound in my memory. I do so love a good love story and this still has a couple totally dedicated to each other as they get on in years. But there are two offspring and it is their friendships which bring Captain Tilney into their world. And as this young roué finds his charm and good looks alone are not going to win a place in Violet Blakeney’s parents approval (especially Sir Percy’s) he finds himself struggling against forces which place him out of favor, even further.

His father has used his influence to gain a place near the Regent and out of danger for his son and wants him to use this placement to make connections for a good marriage but this also takes Tilney out of the action as Napoleon returns from Elba. Subsequently it also throws Tilney back into circles with reputations frowned upon…especially by parents wanting all that is honorable for their daughter.

As the stage is set the action becomes tense near the middle of the story and then I could not stop reading. I know we are guaranteed a happy ending but when it is a matter of live and death, not just love found or lost, the story is so much more gripping. I highly recommend this book to all. It may just be my favorite to date of the author’s books. ...more

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Aug 08, 2016 Anna added it

Shelves: austenesque

Jack Caldwell’s latest novel, The Last Adventure of the Scarlet Pimpernel, is inspired by both The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emma Orczy and Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. It also is a companion novel to Caldwell’s The Three Colonels: Jane Austen’s Fighting Men, but it is a standalone novel. In fact, I’ve never read The Scarlet Pimpernel — just searched for a detailed summary online — and I had no trouble following the story.

The novel opens with a bang: Captain Frederick Tilney, the heir of Jack Caldwell’s latest novel, The Last Adventure of the Scarlet Pimpernel, is inspired by both The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emma Orczy and Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. It also is a companion novel to Caldwell’s The Three Colonels: Jane Austen’s Fighting Men, but it is a standalone novel. In fact, I’ve never read The Scarlet Pimpernel — just searched for a detailed summary online — and I had no trouble following the story.

The novel opens with a bang: Captain Frederick Tilney, the heir of Northanger Abbey, is challenged to a duel over Isabella Thorpe, and then his close friend, Colonel Sir John Buford, cut ties with him until he sees the error of his ways, takes responsibility for his shortcomings, and essentially grows up. Frederick is not a scoundrel like Wickham, but he needs to sever ties with some unsavory people of his acquaintance.

When he is reacquainted with Violet Blakeney, the sister of his longtime friend, George, Frederick realizes he wants to be a better man. However, he has a lot to live up to in the eyes of her father, Sir Percy Blakeney — the retired Scarlet Pimpernel — and Frederick’s fumbles and missteps raise Sir Percy’s ire. While Frederick works to earn Sir Percy’s favor and become worthy of his daughter, an M. Lafarge in Paris is scheming to put an end to the Scarlet Pimpernel once and for all. When Violet encounters trouble on a holiday to Paris, will Sir Percy accept Frederick’s help to save the woman they both love?

Caldwell does a great job mixing in characters from various Austen novels — the Darcys, the Tilneys, and Colonel Brandon, among others, all make an appearance — and it was exciting to read an Austen-inspired sequel that wasn’t about Pride and Prejudice for a change. I can’t comment on Caldwell’s interpretations of the characters from The Scarlet Pimpernel, but I found them thoroughly enjoyable — from Sir Percy’s wit and his passionate relationship with his wife to the strong bonds of the Blakeney family and Lady Marguerite’s refusal to stay quiet when her husband is being stubborn and foolish.

In The Last Adventure of the Scarlet Pimpernel, Caldwell seamlessly merges The Scarlet Pimpernel and Northanger Abbey into an exciting adventure novel led by an aging hero whose mind is as sharp as ever and a young man who is not inclined to sit idle. There’s plenty of action to balance out the more romantic aspects of the story, and if I had to find something I didn’t like, I would only say there are places in the story where the pace slows down just a bit, though that’s a minor quibble. Overall, I found The Last Adventure of the Scarlet Pimpernel to be a delightful tale full of interesting characters, a heartwarming love story, some history, a dash of humor, and quite a bit of danger. I hope Caldwell revisits these characters again in the future.

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