The Wraith and the Rose by C.J. Brightley (Lizzie)

As a longtime fan of the classic masked-hero story The Scarlet Pimpernel (both the book and the movie), I was excited to learn that C.J. Brightley of Noblebright.org was writing a fantasy retelling. It has a Victorian setting, and the fight is against the fae, who are stealing children. If you're not familiar with The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy, it's set during the French revolution. A beautiful, witty French actress married a fashionable Englishman only to realize he's empty-headed and dull. In truth, he's the daring Scarlet Pimpernel, whose incredible rescues of French aristocrats from the guillotine have incensed the French leaders. They send a clever investigator to find this rescuer among the nobles of England. The investigator was once an acquaintance of the lady, who is wrongfully said to have caused the deaths of a French family. Our hero learns on his wedding day the lie of her betrayal of that family and vows to keep his emotional distance from the object of his adoration. All ends well, of course. It's a delightful book and movie (the Jane Seymour version is my favorite).

Here's the blurb:

A Scarlet Pimpernel Reimagining with Fairies and Magic

The Fair Folk are stealing children.
One man is stealing them back.

When Miss Lilybeth Rose Hathaway and her family arrive in Ardmond for the season, Lily can’t help but be charmed by wealthy, popular Theo Overton’s lovely manners and genuine affection. The Hathaways are soon elevated far beyond what they might have imagined, and like everyone else, they are captivated by rumors of the national hero known as the Wraith, who is saving human children from the terrors of the Fair Court.

The arrival of the Special Envoy of the Fair Court tasked with capturing the Wraith frightens everyone. But the Wraith is far too clever to be captured… until the stakes become personal.

The Wraith and the Rose is a delightful reimagining of The Scarlet Pimpernel in a Victorian-inspired setting with dangerous Fair Folk and a love worth dying for.

If you enjoy sweet romance with near-perfect heroes, rich descriptions of fashions and foods, manners and the language of flowers, then you'll enjoy this book. If you're looking more for the swashbuckling daring-do and cleverness of the rescues of the movie version of The Scarlet Pimpernel, you'll likely be disappointed. This is a book for the romantics. I admit I was hoping for a greater sense of danger and cunning, but the author seemed to be avoiding that as much as possible, going for light descriptions and only telling us of the danger. The Veil (the passage between the human and fairy worlds) is said to be dangerous, but I never felt the danger. We're told it has dangerous creatures and may glimpse them, but it felt more like something tossed in because there should be danger than a grounded part of the story. In at least one rescue of the stolen children, the hero, in disguise, merely bullies the guards into letting him have the children. I could see that happening early in the Wraith's/Rose's rescues, but not when the fae are desperately trying to catch him. They would be looking for something like that, I would think. The reason for the rift between the hero and heroine also wasn't convincingly serious either. The greatest grievance, though, in my opinion is the lack of the clever ditty about the Scarlet Pimpernel; it's fun to repeat and was a great part of the movie version as the hero uses it to mock his rival. 

I did still like the characters in The Wraith and the Rose, though they were a bit too sappy sweet and shallow-feeling for my taste, and reading the book brought back fond memories of the original story. For me, it just focused on the aspects I wasn't so fond of in the original--the hero's worship of the heroine and fashion concerns. This is a retelling for the romantics.

You can purchase it here: The Wraith and the Rose

Top 3 Fictional Castle Escapes (Lizzie)

Everyone loves a daring escape. Here are three (plus a bonus) of my favorite escapes from castles. Warning: There are spoilers in these descriptions.

3. The Fall from The Princess Bride 

I don't like heights, so even if a gentle giant is waiting below my window to catch me, I'm not sure that I wouldn't opt for bed sheets tied end to end. However, when Buttercup smiles confidently down at the giant who'd once kidnapped her and then lets herself be dropped out the castle window, it does make for a good scene, especially with her dress fluttering as she falls. Add to that four white horses for them to gallop away on, and it makes for a great getaway.

It should be noted, however, that fictional women were not the only ones to escape castles. Empress Maud (also called Empress Matilda), during The Anarchy (1100s) in England, was battling for England with her cousin King Stephan when she became trapped in Oxford Castle. On a stormy winter night, she was let down from the castle via a rope and escaped over the snow-covered ground wearing a white cloak to hide her from the surrounding troops.

2. Riding Through the Front Gate: Disney's The Story of Robin Hood and The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh

After the Sheriff of Nottingham's disreputable deputies try to incriminate Robin Hood and his Merry Men by attacking the Queen dressed in Sherwood green, Robin Hood and his men find and don the defeated soldiers' real clothes and head to Nottingham Castle. There, they rescue Maid Marian and then ride out through the front gate and across the drawbridge to safety. Robin Hood, however, having stayed behind to see the others safely out, has a more dramatic escape--over the quickly closing drawing bridge into the moat with the sheriff on his tale.

With disguises, a bold entrance and exit in plain view of the guards, plus the dramatic rush over the drawbridge, it's a great castle escape. I love the daring of a disguise and open entrance or exit as much as the slyness of a secret removal.

The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh, Dr. Syn.

Another great example is from Disney's The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh, which tells of a priest (aka, The Scarecrow) in Cornwall who leads his parishioners in a smuggling ring (keeping them safe--they'd get caught if he didn't lead them--and giving money to the poor, of course, to make it right). When some men in his care are thrown into the castle dungeon, the Scarecrow and some trusted friends disguise themselves as a press gang and walk the prisoners out right under the commander's nose. Until realizing who the press gang members were, the prisoners probably preferred the dungeon over the fate of those forced into His Majesty's Navy.

1. Gandalf and the Eagle from LOTR

I admit not liking heights, but Gandalf's escape from Saruman's fortress is breathtaking. He jumps off the top of a tower, seemingly into thin air, and then soars away on the back of a giant eagle. It's a fantastic visual image. Dramatic, unexpected, brilliant.

Bonus: Getting yourself marched out and shot: The Scarlet Pimpernel

Sir Percy Blakeney

I forgot this one until I had already decided on my Top 3, but once I remembered it, I couldn't not mention the climax of the 1982 version of The Scarlet Pimpernell. The agent of the French Revolutionists have discovered that the supposed slow-witted dandy Sir Percy Blakeney is really the Scarlet Pimpernel, the daring leader of a group of young Englishmen who rescue French nobles right from under the guillotine, carrying them away in brilliant and sometimes, terrifying, disguises. Sir Percy and Marguerite are trapped in a castle on the French coast, Percy is marched outside and shot by the revolutionists. Marguerite is distraught ... until Percy walks back in, revealing his men had "persuaded" some of the revolutionists to swap clothes and that it's the revolutionists who are trapped.

There are dozens of fantastic escapes, but these are some of the first that came to my mind. What are some of your favorite escapes?