The Scarlet Pimpernel and A Tale of Two Cities Book Comparison

This is another assignment from many weeks ago. I know that it is less formal and may not be incredible quality, but I guess it’s pretty cool to see how my writing has improved. I hope you like it.

Do you like to read? Let’s hope that was a, “yes!” Reading is like the doors to different worlds. You can read about SO many topics such as occupations, geography, and cooking!

Well, this is a book review and comparison using the books A Tale of Two Cities and The Scarlet Pimpernel. I will start first with a book review on A Tale of Two Cities, then do one on The Scarlet Pimpernel, then do the comparison.

Here is the book review on A Tale of Two Cities.

The time period is approximately 1775. The location is around the area of France and England. It was around the time period of the French Revelation.

The literature genre seems to be Historical and maybe Mystery as well. However, at times it may be a bit hard to follow.

The author of this book was named: Charles John Huffam Dickens. He was a British author and started off his life in poverty. However, he worked hard at his work and eventually became a fairly wealthy man. He was known to have said, “I will write because I can’t help it.” What a great work ethic!  He was born in 1812 and died 58 years later in 1870. He was also the author The Pickwick Paper, Great Expectation, and Oliver Twist.

Here is a brief summary of the book:

A young woman named Lucie Manette who had not seen her father since childhood was taken to see him. Her Father, Doctor Manette, had become a sort of lunatic and when troubled seemed to resort to being a shoe maker.

Eventually recalled to mental health with the help of his daughter he became a civil man once again and they became basically normal, ordinary, people; of course, with exception to the current political matters (troubles).

Eventually, Lucie married a man named Charles Darney and they had a child who I believe was named after her mother. Unfortunately, Charles Darney sort of got caught in the political troubles and I think his life was threatened because of it. Thankfully, with the help of Doctor Manette, he is freed!

What is this political trouble I speak of? Well, the time period was during or around the French Revelation…England vs. France.

Alright, now is the review on The Scarlet Pimpernel:

The time period for this book is around September 1792. The location that the book is set in is the England/France area.

The setting influences the plot of the book because the Scarlet Pimpernel was helping to free the “aristocrats” from France.

It’s genre in literature is Historical and Mystery. I personally found this book very good and liked it.

The author of The Scarlet Pimpernal wasBaroness Orczy…or I can tell you her full name: Emma Magdalena Rosalia Maria Josefa Barbara Orczy…Oh yeah, did I mention she also had the title of Baroness? She lived from 1865-1947, was born in Hungary, and was herself the daughter of an aristocrat. According to Fantastic Fiction, the book was originally co-written with her husband as a play.

I don’t know if she had any previous books, but I know that there is a Scarlet Pimpernel series which could be the reason that some may find the end of the book leaving them wanting for more.

Here is a brief summary of the book The Scarlet Pimpernel:

The book starts off with the French revolutionists trying to capture the aristocrats but especially the elusive Scarlet Pimpernel. The Scarlet Pimpernel would smuggle people out of the city and for this, the ‘bad guys’ were enraged. It also has a young lady by the name of Lady Marguerite who was newly married to a man by the name of Sir Percy Blakeney. Sir Percy gives off the impression of one with a low IQ (to say it nicely). This sir Percy had inherited a very large fortune and was one of the richest men in England.

There is trouble, however, and for the sake of saving her brother, Lady Marguerite betrays the Scarlet Pimpernel and ends up regretting it when she finds out who exactly she betrayed.

She then goes on a hunt for this Scarlet Pimpernel to find him and save him before he is captured. The rest, I will let you read for yourself!

Alright, here is the comparison:

Did I like The Scarlet Pimpernel? Yes! In general, it was a great book! Unlike A Tale of Two Cities, it was clear and I could easily follow it. As my English teacher says, “Good writing is easy to read and understand…”  It was an exciting, energetic, attention grabbing book. It was slightly romantic, but because of the way it was written, it didn’t seem too “mushy!”

As I said, I did like the book. However, there were a few things that were not perfect about the book. I didn’t really dislike it but I guess at times it could have been a bit predictable. Also, the end of the book may leave you wanting more. Another thing, I didn’t really like how Sir Percy seemed to be like this dog that would follow his master (his wife) everywhere and give her whatever she wanted and be like such a submissive creature. I am all for men loving their wives, but Percy’s wife at first just seemed so disrespectful to her husband and it seemed like she thought that she disserved his blind love.

I would read more by this author because the way the book’s story was engineered was done so well and intriguing. I would actually encourage others to read this book because in my opinion, it was overall great! I think that while it may have some flaws; it is overall a good book and is one that I would recommend you to read. 

However, should you read A Tale of Two Cities? Sure…if you want to. Would I recommend it to you? Not really! It wasn’t my favorite book. Even though the parts of the book that I have related and revealed to you may make it sound like a good book, it wasn’t really all that great. There were quite a bit of rebellious people and at times it wasn’t supper easy to fully understand what was happening in the book. However, if I ever decide to read it front to back again I might understand it better and come to a different conclusion. However, as I said, this was not my favorite book! At about 367 pages it is a long, sort of boring (at times), old history book.

I would, however, read more by this author because he is a famous one and has stories that apparently have been beloved by many. Just because I didn’t really like this particular book it doesn’t mean that I won’t like others that he has written.

In conclusion, I will give another even briefer review for the two books mentioned today. 

The overall theme of A Tale of Two Cities was basically about a young woman who hasn’t seen her father since she was a child and helped to bring him back to health (particularly mental health). There were also some family safety issues because there were some political issues…these were also part of the theme.

The overall theme of The Scarlet Pimpernel was basically about the Scarlet Pimpernel, his Identity, and his relationships.

I would more highly recommend the book The Scarlet Pimpernel because it is exciting, fairly easy to read and therefore understand, and is overall a great book!

The purpose for this review and comparison essay was for my school. This is probably the largest review I have ever done and was an area which I was able to grow a bit in.

Thanks for reading!

~SonofYHWH

Sources:

https://www.fantasticfiction.com/o/baroness-orczy/

https://www.biography.com/writer/charles-dickens