Product Details

• Published on: 2005-08
• Format: Large Print
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 664 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The French eventually unmasked the Scarlet Pimpernel and the Purple Gentian, famed spies in the Napoleonic wars, but as Harvard graduate student Eloise Kelly discovers at the start of this breezy historical romance, the identity of the Pink Carnation remains a mystery. Working in London on her history dissertation, Eloise gets access to a trunk of papers and documents from the early 19th century. She dives into this treasure trove, and suddenly the reader is plunged into a novel within a novel, told from the viewpoint of Amy Balcourt. Amy, exiled to rural England with her mother, now wants to avenge, with the help of her cousin Jane, her father's death at the hands of the French. She hopes to be in league with the Scarlet Pimpernel, who heroically tried to save her father. Willig, a Harvard graduate student herself, does a good job painting a picture of the tumultuous era. She also makes the sparks fly between Amy and the Purple Gentian, a dashing English nobleman in charge of Egyptian antiquities for Bonaparte. But when the Pink Carnation's identity is finally revealed after many obvious clues, the reader wonders why it took Eloise so long to get it. More critically, Eloise's appearances come to seem like awkward intrusions into Amy's - and the Pink Carnation's - more intriguing story.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From AudioFile
While history has unmasked the Scarlet Pimpernel and the Purple Gentian, mystery still surrounds another lesser-known hero, the Pink Carnation. In this refreshing historical romp--strong on history with a healthy dollop of romance--Eloise Kelly, 21st-century Ph.D. candidate, sets about to reveal the true identity of that romantic figure. Through dogged determination, Eloise gains access to a treasure trove of letters and diaries. Narrator Kate Reading slips seamlessly between the diction of present and past. Reading's accomplished voicing, particularly in the novel-within-a-novel, turns the streets of 1890s Paris rank with unimaginable muck, while Josephine's salons glitter with pomp. Reading handles secret assignations, gambling hells, gentlemen's clubs, passionate encounters, torture chambers, and slimy villains with her usual expertise, adding luster to author Lauren Willig's imaginative take on the Napoleonic Era. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Willig's imaginative debut is the story of Eloise Kelly, who is trying to uncover the identity of the Pink Carnation, a British spy a la the Scarlet Pimpernel who infiltrated Napoleonic France, for her Ph.D. dissertation. But it is also the story of Amy Balcourt, a young woman of French descent raised in England, whom Eloise learns about when she gains access to the papers kept by Arabella Selwick-Alderly, the descendant of another dashing spy, the Purple Gentian. Amy sets off to join her brother, Edouard, in France, with the hope of joining the league of the Purple Gentian. On her journey over she meets Lord Richard Selwick, the Purple Gentian himself, and though sparks fly between the two, he feels he can't reveal his secret identity to her. Eloise is engrossed in Amy's story, even as Arabella's infuriating but handsome nephew, Colin Selwick, tries to bar her access to the papers. Readers should expect more of the swashbuckling past than the scholarly present, but Willig's story is a decidedly delightful romp. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Fun Parody of Swashbucklers and Academic Researchers
"The Secret History of the Pink Carnation" is a fun read, and a well written first novel. Ms. Willig's "Masque of the Black Tulip" (the 2nd volume in the series and the one I read first) is much better. Frankly, I would have known who the Pink Carnation was. Any mystery reader would have said 'Ah-ha' the moment that character was described. The modern portions are good chick-lit, and I like the parody of the swash-buckler a la Scarlet Pimpernel.

Mr and Ms Smith meets Jane Austin
I love all 3 of these books. Writting is excellent, wonderful setting, well developed characters, fun all around. I highly recommend. I see how the other reviewer said it was predictiable- but isn't the journey all the fun?

too predictable but still good
I finally got a chance to read this book, recommended by a local store clerk. Unfortunately, when I got to the chapter in which Eloise finds information that might help her find out who the Pink Carnation is, it was easy from then on for the reader to know who the Carnation was indeed. It was way too predictable. The story (of all these spies) *is* interesting, it's just too bad that Willig could not come up with other possibilities to tell the reader who the spy was. In the end, there was no twist, and the ending actually left me unsatisfied. No, I won't spoil it and tell you who is the Carnation, you will find out yourself when you read it. And no, I will not read the follow up of the book, The Masque of the Black Tulip.
Despite this, Willig's writing is quite enjoyable, and the book reads very easily. If you like predictable novels, you'll definitely enjoy this one.