Book Review of The Scarlet Pimpernel & A Tale of Two Cities

Today will be a book review comparing the books The Scarlet Pimpernel and A Tale of Two Cities. If you haven’t heard of these two books then don’t worry, I will attempt to describe each of them without giving too much away.  I must admit I thoroughly enjoyed reading both of them, so I shall remain unbiased  about which of the two you should read.

The Scarlet Pimpernel is First and was written by Baroness Orczy. It takes place in France during the early stages of the French Revolution. The main character is none other than the Scarlet Pimpernel, a brave hero who rescues some of his French counterparts from the Guillotine. This of course is disliked by many in France and makes it dangerous for him to be seen, therefore he wears a disguise which conceals his true identity. This book is probably one of the novels which inspired the concept of a “secret identity”.

A Tale of Two Cities is a famous novel written by Charles Dickens.  This is a story that also takes place in France at the same time during the Revolution. It begins when Banker Jarvis Lorry receives a letter from Lucie Manette asking him for help. Lucie’s father was in an unhealthy state and Lorry was able to help him. After this a court trial takes place which sparks a chain of events that help move the story along. This is a type of book that you have to read for yourself in order to understand the story line correctly.

While these books may sound very different with one similarity so far, they contain much more than that. In the plots of these two books there is a character that has to be rescued from death in the Revolution, but in The Scarlet Pimpernel, they all survive while one man died in the other book. The authors of these two books have their differences as well. Orczy was made famous for this one book series, while Dickens has been famous for almost every book he’s ever written.

Now that I’ve described these two books, it’s time for me to express opinion. I actually enjoyed a Tale of two Cities more that the other, there was just something about it that I really enjoyed. But, not to say that the other one wasn’t enjoyable, in fact I’d recomend reading it as well. In conclusion, the purpose of this review was to encourage you to read either one of these two amazing books if not both.

• English
• Essays