The Baroness books are a rare find. I grabbed it at once. Who doesnt love the Scarlet Pimpernel? Dont you just sympathize with all of those self-centered aristocrats and loathe the abhorrent proletariat? Wait though! The opening sentence of the prologue sets the stage in 1917. How can this be? What can this American (?) spy-catcher of World War I possible have to do with our Pimpernel? More confusion! The book immediately shifts to the post-war era: a time when the European powers have sagely (?) divided the spoils from losers to winners, leaving Germany relatively free to regroup and retool. Thus we find ourselves in Translyvania, now mandated from Hungarian to Rumanian rule. Aah, de ja vuthe seeds of the French Revolution all over again. And, here is the great grandson of our Pimpernel, complete as a champion cricketeer.

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