3.5 out of five stars (rounded up to four) 
 In spite of her title and rather ostentatious name, Baroness Emmuska Magdalena Rosalia Maria Josefa Barbara Orczy's writing style is not above reproach. There was some awkward phrasing, some awkward repeated words, and these things were very mildly distracting. Much more distracting, however, was her proclivity to repeat herself. Much more distracting, however, was her proclivity to repeat herself. Much more distracting, however, was her proclivity to repeat herself. I didn't notice this happening in the first half of the book, but in the second half... God dammit, woman, how many times is your character going to tell the reader that the Scarlet Pimpernel is unwittingly walking into a trap, and it's all that character's fault, and oh, woe is she? 40? 50? We got it! Every time there was a lull in conversation, or a stop on the road, or time to make another exhalation in the natural breathing process, this bit of intel was reiterated for us. 
 I guess it's possible that attention spans in the first decade of the 20th century were much shorter, and such reminders were necessary, but I doubt it. After all, I've read works from Conan Doyle, Barrie, and Leroux from the same time period, and I don't recollect any of them recalling to the reader's mind how matters presently stood for the characters via the equivalent of literary shrapnel fired from a Minigun. Occasional reminders are necessary in a book to make the action easier to follow, but this was a prime example of overkill. Not only was the horse dead, its skin flayed off, its guts liquidated, but its very bones were pulverized into powder, and she was still beating the thing! I began to groan every time it was brought up again, which was approximately every other page. 
 Now, I must confess that I don't read romance novels, and romance was a factor in these parts. It's possible that the reiteration of tragedy in matters of love is how one is supposed to do romance writing, and that way the writer gets into the "awww" section of the reader's heart and keeps it stoked. I don't know. If that is indeed the case, then I guess it's a great romance novel. If not, then it's just some sucky writing, but I doubt that's the case since this is considered a classic. 
 So why do I give such high marks for something that caused me such anguish in one area? It's the story itself, and the ingenuity of the Scarlet Pimpernel's plans and designs. I never quite knew what was going to happen next, who was good, who was bad, and the novel kept me guessing about things from start to finish. That kind of stuff is way up my alley. Whether or not this is a great romance story is beyond my capability to rate since I have nothing to which I can really compare it, and that kind of stuff ain't my bag anyway, but it certainly is a great adventure story, and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes that genre.