Scan barcode
twicebaked's review against another edition
5.0
Discretion was of necessity his chief stock-in-trade, and his small cargo of scruples he had thrown overboard long ago.
(Found the books on this website http://blakeneymanor.com/series.html)
edit: this has unintentional spoilers ahead and I wrote this forever ago, so writing style, opinion, and cohesiveness may not be at their best lol
This is an intruing, engaging, interesting, compelling, humorous book. The Laughing Cavalier (Diogenes) has some great lines and is full of wit, charm, good-humor, and - best of all! lol - good looks. And it's one of the best prequels I have ever read. The book is full of plot twists and might be better than The First Sir Percy (which is the sequel to this book, and prequel to The Scarlet Pimpernel).
It does have some romance, but isn't your usual run-of-the-mill romance - it's centered around a different plot and the romance is almost an after-thought. The Lord of Stoutenberg is in "love" with Gilda - she's not in love with him (he's already jilted her once, gotten married, and then divorced). For a long time, Diogenes is under the impression that she is in love with him because the Lord of Stoutenberg says she is betrothed to him (she isn't).
Diogenes is hardly romantic, and he laughs at her more than he likes her. He thinks she's foolish and rude and too pampered, and she thinks he's unkind and rude and too low-class for her because he's poor, until the very end (he starts rethinking around chapter 30) when he does like her and she does like him (she starts rethinking around chapter 34) because she realizes she was wrong about a lot of things. Diogenes has such a personality, it makes you fall in love with him quickly and completely. Gilda have a lot of courage and isn't one of those weak-kneed, faints-whenever-there's-danger kind of heroines, which made me fall in love with her less quickly but just as completely. Together they're the ultimate power couple that you can't help but root for.
The story is complex and weaves in and out, there are so many plots within the plot - people trying to take one guy down, another trying to warn that guy, another who's kidnapping the one who's trying to warn him, the people trying to take the one guy down realize they should take the one down who's kidnapping the one who's trying to warn the guy... (without names it sounds a lot more confusing. It's a little less so once you actually read it.)
Chapter 37 is one of the BEST chapters in the whole book, when he's thinking about Gilda (see the spoiler at the bottom of the review). One thing I have to say, though, is that his constantly referring to St. Bavon - especially at the end, it's a little bit out of place and kind of odd. It's also kind of disappointing that
Spoiler
Stoutenberg gets away"Ah! but it is good," he said at last, "to look upon a helpless rogue."
"'Tis a sight then," retorted Diogenes lightly, "which your Magnificence hath often provided for your friends and your adherents."
"Bah!" rejoined Stoutenburg, who was determined to curb his temper if he could, "your insolence now, my man, hath not the power to anger me. It strikes me as ludicrous -- even pathetic in its senselessness. [If] I were in your unpleasant position, I would try by submission to earn a slight measure of leniency from my betters."
"No doubt you would, my lord," quoth Diogenes dryly, "but you see I have up to now not yet come across my betters. When I do, I may take your advice."
(Below is a really, really long quote. Might have a little bit of spoiler in it, so read with discretion.)
"Death in itself matters but little," mused the philosopher with his gently ironical smile. "I would have chosen another mode than hanging . . . but after all 'tis swift and sure; and of course now she will never know."
Know what, O philosopher? What is it that she - Gilda - with the fair curls and the blue eyes, the proud firm mouth and round chin - what is it that she will never know?
She will never know that a nameless, penniless soldier of fortune has loved her with every beat of his heart, every thought of his brain, with every sinew and every aspiration. She will never know that just in order to remain near her, when she was dragged away out of Rotterdam he affronted deliberately the trap into which he fell. She will never know that for her dear sake, he has borne humiliation against which every nerve of his splendid nature did inwardly rebel, owning to guilt and shame lest her blue eyes shed tears from a brother's sin. She will never know that the warning to the Stadtholder came from him, and that he was neither a forger nor a thief, only just a soldier of fortune with a contempt for death, and an unspoken adoration for the one woman who seemed to him as distant from him as the stars.
But there were no vain regrets in him now; no regret of life, for this he always held in his own hand ready to toss it away for a fancy of an ideal -- no regret of the might-have-been because he was a philosopher, and the very moment that love for the unattainable was born in his heart he had already realized that love to him could only mean a memory.
Therefore when he watched the preparations out there in the mist, and heard the heavy blows upon the wooden planks and the murmurs of his sympathizers at their work, he only smiled gently, self-deprecatingly, but always good-humouredly.
If the Lord of Stoutenburg only knew how little he really cared.
GOSH I need to reread this series.
PLAYLIST:
Epic (TheFatRat)
Waiting For You (Grizfolk)
Apologize (OneRepuplic)
kailey_luminouslibro's review against another edition
4.0
Diogenes is a carefree swordsman who lives by his wits, known as the Laughing Cavalier in 1600s Holland. He is hired to kidnap the lovely Gilda Beresteyn, because she has overheard a plot to kill the Prince of Orange, and the assassins, one of whom is her own brother, want her out of the city for a few days so she can't divulge their evil plans. All goes according to plan, until Diogenes begins to fall in love with the beautiful Gilda, won over by her gentle ways.
I love the sword-fighting, political intrigue, betrayal, secret plans, adventure, and mystery. The plot is almost non-stop action, and every situation seems impossible for the heroes to survive, but somehow, amazingly, incredibly, they pull through. Every plot twist is a surprise! I love the agile writing style, because it keeps the reader interested through every page.
Diogenes pretends to be a devil-may-care rogue, but he has a noble heart, and a truly chivalrous code of honor. He is a figure larger than life, utterly strong and brave, laughing in the face of death, and able to win people over with his charm and ready wit.
Gilda is sweetness itself. She has led a sheltered life, but she is resilient in dire circumstances, and resourceful in her attempts to stop the assassins and save the Prince of Orange. She does some fainting and crying, but also has some strong scenes of courage and clever dialogue.
I adore all of the Scarlet Pimpernel books, and really enjoyed this spin-off about Blakeney's "famous ancestor."
I love the sword-fighting, political intrigue, betrayal, secret plans, adventure, and mystery. The plot is almost non-stop action, and every situation seems impossible for the heroes to survive, but somehow, amazingly, incredibly, they pull through. Every plot twist is a surprise! I love the agile writing style, because it keeps the reader interested through every page.
Diogenes pretends to be a devil-may-care rogue, but he has a noble heart, and a truly chivalrous code of honor. He is a figure larger than life, utterly strong and brave, laughing in the face of death, and able to win people over with his charm and ready wit.
Gilda is sweetness itself. She has led a sheltered life, but she is resilient in dire circumstances, and resourceful in her attempts to stop the assassins and save the Prince of Orange. She does some fainting and crying, but also has some strong scenes of courage and clever dialogue.
I adore all of the Scarlet Pimpernel books, and really enjoyed this spin-off about Blakeney's "famous ancestor."
storiesforhisglory's review against another edition
5.0
Splendid
What a story!! I have a new favorite Scarlet Pimpernel story. Oh my goodness, this is story was such a delight. I can’t wait to read it again and again until I know the best bits by heart.
What a story!! I have a new favorite Scarlet Pimpernel story. Oh my goodness, this is story was such a delight. I can’t wait to read it again and again until I know the best bits by heart.
helwyse's review against another edition
4.0
I am embarking on a read of all of the Scarlet Pimpernel novels and short stories. Not having looked at the blurb too closely, I expected this one to be set during the French Revolution like The Scarlet Pimpernel, and was pleasantly surprised to instead be transported to 17th Century Holland, the Golden Age of the Netherlands complete with tulip mania, windmills, cross country ice-skating, painters and political tensions and plots against the Stadholder. It's a fascinating historical period and I really enjoyed being immersed in it. Having some knowledge of Dutch history and geography, this was so satisfying to read (I could picture and locate everything!), Orczy really nailed it.
This book is all about the Scarlet Pimpernel's ancestor, who is half-British half-Dutch, and a really strong character. Loud and brash and showy, this Laughing Cavalier would be very one-dimensional if it weren't for the fact that he hides a tragic past and shows plenty of tenderness and moral fortitude when confronted with the way Gilda, the other main character and love interest, is treated by the other men in the story. I loved that both main characters are based on paintings by Frans Hals and spent some time looking them up (I had to make a guess at which one Gilda could be, which was great fun). Gilda was also a surprisingly good character, not a doormat at all despite the circumstances. I appreciated that Orczy has her make her own choices (withing the boundaries of societal norms and the very precarious situations she finds herself in). She is courageous, strong and calm, and always true to herself. Most of the other characters, unfortunately, were very flat. The antagonists in particular are either pure evil in the case of Stoutenburg, or just slimey and easily influenced in the case of Nicolaes Beresteyn.
The plot roars along at a great pace; it really is an adventure novel. I could not put it down. There are enough twists and developments to keep you guessing as to how it will reach some kind of satisfactory resolution, and the pacing is carefully managed.
The only thing that bothered me was the anti-semitism related to the portrayal of the Jewish banker and his lifestyle - not unexpected given the timeframe in which this was written, but a shame and a stain on the book nonetheless.
This book is all about the Scarlet Pimpernel's ancestor, who is half-British half-Dutch, and a really strong character. Loud and brash and showy, this Laughing Cavalier would be very one-dimensional if it weren't for the fact that he hides a tragic past and shows plenty of tenderness and moral fortitude when confronted with the way Gilda, the other main character and love interest, is treated by the other men in the story. I loved that both main characters are based on paintings by Frans Hals and spent some time looking them up (I had to make a guess at which one Gilda could be, which was great fun). Gilda was also a surprisingly good character, not a doormat at all despite the circumstances. I appreciated that Orczy has her make her own choices (withing the boundaries of societal norms and the very precarious situations she finds herself in). She is courageous, strong and calm, and always true to herself. Most of the other characters, unfortunately, were very flat. The antagonists in particular are either pure evil in the case of Stoutenburg, or just slimey and easily influenced in the case of Nicolaes Beresteyn.
The plot roars along at a great pace; it really is an adventure novel. I could not put it down. There are enough twists and developments to keep you guessing as to how it will reach some kind of satisfactory resolution, and the pacing is carefully managed.
The only thing that bothered me was the anti-semitism related to the portrayal of the Jewish banker and his lifestyle - not unexpected given the timeframe in which this was written, but a shame and a stain on the book nonetheless.
More...