Book Review - Lauren Willig's The Secret History of the Pink Carnation
The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig
Published by: NAL
Publication Date: February 7th, 2005
Format: Paperback, 428 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
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Amy Balcourt has spent her exile in the sheep infested fields of Shropshire dreaming of the day she can return to France. Her and her mother were lucky, they escaped France before her father's head rolled. But Napoleon and his ilk have to pay. Amy longs for revenge. She has dreamed of nothing but the day she could return to Paris and join the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel and foil those Frenchies with witty asides and raids on their secret files. But then that dratted Pimpernel went and got unmasked, so who's league would she join now? All the training Amy and her cousin Jane spent in disguises and teaching the sheep stampeding formations would go to waste unless another spy stepped forth for jolly old England. Of course another spy did step forth, The Purple Gentian. Now Amy and Jane just have to wait for the opportunity to go to Paris, which handily comes in a note from Amy's brother who hopes she will return to the family home during the (temporary) peace with France. With their neighbor, Miss Gwen and her trusty parasol, as their chaperon, Amy and Jane set out for the continent and the League of the Purple Gentian. Instead what Amy finds on the packet to France is an annoyingly cute Lord Richard Selwick. Amy has no inkling about his extra curricular activities as the Purple Gentian because his cover is too good. His "support" for Napoleon is believable and she finds hate stirring in her breast for Lord Richard Selwick. Not to mention his interest in Amy is very inconvenient. How is she going to skulk around the docks and overhear crucial bits of information to get an in with the league with him dogging her heels? But eventually lurking beneath desks and listening through keyholes pays off, Amy learns of details pertaining to the plans to invade England, she also learns that, though joining the league of the Purple Gentian has always been her goal, perhaps kissing the Purple Gentian is preferable. And kiss him she does, as they seem to have a magnetic attraction from the moment they meet. Of course the Gentian is of two minds, both of which want Amy, both of which want her safe and sound. With midnight assignations and lusty boat rides how can Richard stop the invasion of England with his mind so firmly on Amy? Or course things could be worse, your whole family could descend on you en masse to "help" with your secret spy ring. How long will it be till the Purple Gentian is unmasked just as the Scarlet Pimpernel was? And how long till the Pink Carnation steps in to fill the void, just as the Gentian did in his day?
I have been a fan of Lauren Willig and the Pink Carnation series since approximately the very beginning. Technically it was right after the third book, The Deception of the Emerald Ring, was released that I became an addict/aficionado, but with twelve books in the series and the countless other books Lauren has written it's as close to the beginning as makes no nevermind. I was drawn in by the ingenious hypothetical of a simple what-if. What-if the Scarlet Pimpernel was real and not a creation of Baroness Orczy. That she was just his biographer. Throw in a Bridget Jones angle with the "modern" adventures of Eloise Kelly and The Secret History of the Pink Carnation brought a modern sensibility to Regency literature. With similarities to Austen and Heyer we get a Regency romp that is more accessible to modern readers. There is the wit, there is the romance, and there is the man in black; just think Carey Elwes circa Princess Bride not Ella Enchanted. And not to slam Austen here, but I feel a greater emotional depth and connection with Lauren's characters. They are more human, less an archetype. Austen's great lovers have a remoteness. You feel a step removed from the action. You can admire the characters and wish to live Lizzy and Darcy's fairy tale, yet somehow you can't imagine yourself as half of that fairy tale couple as easily as you can with imaging yourself as Amy, crouching under the desk waiting to announce herself to the Purple Gentian. Lauren Willig has created a world you become a part of and don't want to leave, hence her devoted followers which she so generously spends time with, and in fact that's why I've picked up this book yet again. Starting in February of 2021 Lauren begin a year long Pink Carnation Read Along with a Zoom meeting with a "special guest host" at the end of each month. The last time I had re-read all the books was when the final volume in the series, The Lure of the Moonflower, was being released and my blogging friend Ashley and I did Pink For All Seasons from September 2014 to August 2015. So I felt it was time to re-read the whole epic adventure from Amy's first frolic with a sheep to Jane's final adventure. Plus, getting insights into the book? What book nerd doesn't want that?
