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A review by helwyse
I Will Repay by Baroness Orczy, Baroness Orczy
3.0
I think this has been one of my favourite Scarlet Pimpernel books so far - on par with Sir Percy Leads the Band.
The main characters have backstories and more depth than Orczy usually manages; the story is tighly paced, with a few successful twists (and unfortunately, a few unrealistic ones, too). The focus is less on The Scarlet Pimpernel himself, which is exactly what I needed after reading The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel.
The themes of revenge and love are relatively well managed, though Orczy does love to indulge in a little moralising which I could have done without. I got a little tired of the Madonna/Angel descriptions of Juliette towards the middle of the novel, and was glad that Orczy broke that trope somewhat. Some descriptions and reflections on girls/women/women in love were dated and more than a little sexist.
Setting these niggles aside though, the suspense kept me reading and I finished it in two sittings.
The main characters have backstories and more depth than Orczy usually manages; the story is tighly paced, with a few successful twists (and unfortunately, a few unrealistic ones, too). The focus is less on The Scarlet Pimpernel himself, which is exactly what I needed after reading The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel.
The themes of revenge and love are relatively well managed, though Orczy does love to indulge in a little moralising which I could have done without. I got a little tired of the Madonna/Angel descriptions of Juliette towards the middle of the novel, and was glad that Orczy broke that trope somewhat. Some descriptions and reflections on girls/women/women in love were dated and more than a little sexist.
Setting these niggles aside though, the suspense kept me reading and I finished it in two sittings.