The Scarlet Pimpernel [Classic Tales Edition] Audiobook By Baroness Orczy cover art

The Scarlet Pimpernel [Classic Tales Edition]

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

The Scarlet Pimpernel [Classic Tales Edition]

By: Baroness Orczy
Narrated by: B. J. Harrison
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $20.00

Buy for $20.00

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

Paris: September 1792. At the West Barricade, the bloody guillotine continues her ghastly work. And word has gotten round that the mischievous Englishman who delights at ferrying off French aristocrats to England is somewhere among them. For today, the Citoyen Fouquier-Tinville, on his way to the Committee of Public Safety, received another enigmatic calling card. It was signed with a symbol of a red flower - the mark of the Scarlet Pimpernel.

Public Domain (P)2010 B. J. Harrison Classics
All stars
Most relevant  
This is a great book. The narration is pretty well done. For 4 bucks, I'm not complaining!

Great book. Solid read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is a great, old-fashioned adventure tale that most would enjoy, and Mr. Harrison does a fantastic job setting the scene and making each character come to life.

A great version of an old favorite

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Really enjoyed this book. Had to drive from Atlanta to Washington DC and listening to this book made the trip actually fun!

Great story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Story is riveting and narrator was very good. Highly recommend. He was great with all of the voices.

Great production

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is one of those classics that define the genre. It is the tale of the Scarlet Pimpernel, an unknown hero, who is whisking doomed French nobles out of France during the Reign of Terror. As a very bookish preteen I read this book a couple of times, always thrilling to the daring Pimpernel, the fiendish villain Chauvelin who is obsessed with capturing and killing him, and the beautiful wife who is torn between the Pimpernel and her hostage brother. As a romantic child who had been brought up watching Errol Flynn movies (still my favorites!) and thrilling to Dumas' Musketeers, I was almost saddened by how dated this book is. This book is dated melodrama now, with not nearly the humor and depth of character which still enliven the works of Dumas. The plot that unfolds is totally predictable and repetitive.

Speaking of repetitive, one of the annoyances of this book is the production of the recording itself. The narrator, B.J. Harrison, is competent although his French accent is a bit hammy. I kept thinking of the inspector from the Pink Panther movies. But there are a lot of glitches where the words or entire lines are repeated. This seemed more of a nuisance than a substantive problem.

Still, after listening to this, I just gave a small, sad smile. Thomas Wolfe said "You can't go home again." This book, one of my treasured childhood reading experiences, was one that didn't fare well for me as a middle-aged man.

Sometimes Nostalgia Comes Up Short

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Sometimes interesting but a bit too contrived ,The Scarlet Pimpernal was definitely a book for it's time. Having read much on the Reign of Terror there isn't much else here for but a melodramatic tale of an aristocratic hero and the snobs he rescues.

Pimperneling Aint Easy

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.