The Secret History of the Pink Carnation

by Lauren Willig

Book Overview

This genre-bending read?a dash of chick-lit with a historical twist?has it all: romance, mystery, and adventure.? ?Meg Cabot, author of The Princess DiariesDeciding that true romantic heroes are a thing of the past, Eloise Kelly, an intelligent American who always manages to wear her Jimmy Choo suede boots on the day it rains, leaves Harvard?s Widener Library bound for England to finish her dissertation on the dashing pair of spies the Scarlet Pimpernel...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0525948600
• ISBN13: 9780525948605
• Release Date: February 2005
• Publisher: Dutton Books
• Length: 388 Pages
• Weight: 1.34 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.3" x 9.6"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

A great read!

When I first picked up this book, I read about two pages and didn't keep going. Out of boredom a few months later, I returned to this historical novel and realized how much I was missing. There are two stories interlaced, that of Eloise, a modern grad student living in England writing a dissertation, and that of Amy, a fiery and spirited girl who decides to take fate into her own hands. Amy and the supporting characters were very well developed and lots of fun to read about, made of sterner stuff than most of the characters found in similar literature. While Eloise's story was not as well-developed, her story (and perhaps a developing relationship with Colin) are upcoming in the sequel to this book, as is a story about Hen, the younger sister of Richard (the love interest of Amy). It sounds confusing but these characters have such texture that you soon feel as if you know them all. This is a book of several genres: mystery, romance, comedy, historical...while it may upset some readers that the book is not historically accurate, the author goes over those facts she took the artistic liberty of changing...and really the point of reading (in most cases) is entertainment anyway, right? I would definitely recommend this book to any reader looking for great action, great romance and some good fun.

A wonderfully fun novel!

I don't understand why this book has gotten some bad reviews, like Lauren Willig I am a student and when I was tired of studying for finals I read this book. Finals are over next week and then I'm going to start the Masque of the Black Tulip. My in laws bought the Deception of the Emerald Ring for my birthday so during Christmas break I'll have lots to read! I agree this book is a page turner! Since I am part of a Marston clan and Marston is such an English name I loved that Willig chose it for one her characters and then paired it with a French name. I thought it especially approprate because the first Marston came to England from France in 1066. I think that Willig did an excellent job in switching between Amy and Eloise. I've read Jane Austen and Baroness Orczy, but I certainly wouldn't pick them up for an afternoon of light reading to take my mind off of exams! I am a huge history buff ( I started out majoring in history in college and then changed to accounting because I don't want to teach) so I know something of history, and I have to say I'm not reading this book to be educated, but to be entertained, and it has certainly done that! I would say to Lauren Willig keep writing such delightfully entertaining books and I will keep buying them!

Not perfect, but fun!

I enjoyed this book, and I'm a bit surprised by all the really bad reviews. It may not be perfect but it is a fun read, which I believe is what the author intended. DON'T expect Jane Austen or Baroness Orczy or Philippa Gregory. Lauren Willig's "The Secret History of the Pink Carnation" is not deep, destined-to-be-classic, impeccably accurate historical fiction--nor is it intended to be. The author says on her website that she wrote it for fun after passing some tough grad school exams, and her enjoyment of writing it comes across in the book. Sure, Amy Balcourt isn't quite as prim and proper as your standard young lady of 1803. It would be difficult to feature in a romance novel if she were. Which, though it hurts my intellectual pride to admit it, this essentially is. It is not, however, I hasten to add, a bodice-ripper Harlequin that's all sex and no substance with no plot, flat characters, and a lot of heaving bosoms. Um, well...there are a few heaving bosoms, but that isn't the *sole* focus of the plot. On the contrary, the book is well-written and engaging. The plot may be insanely contrived at times, but that's what makes it a comedy! The writing is light and funny, the dialog is witty, the romance is...romantic, the plot is suspenseful and full of funny unexpected turns, and the characters are outstanding. Rebellious, vivacious Amy Balcourt and dashing, mysterious Lord Richard Selwick are the main characters. Amy is a lively, intelligent young woman with big plans to help the mysterious Purple Gentian save England (though she wouldn't object if he fell in love with her in the process). She is appalled when she meets Richard--an Englishman on Bonaparte's payroll, which in Amy's eyes amounts to nothing short of treason. Richard, of course, has a secret: he *is* Amy's idol, the Purple Gentian--who does *not* welcome the aid (or the romantic distraction) of a meddlesome, saucy (though very attractive--and very determined) accomplice. Hilarity ensues. Despite the comedy, the characters are sympathetic and realistic. Both have troubled pasts to overcome and ambitious (and often conflicting) dreams. The chemistry of their love/hate relationship is wonderful. Amy and Richard lead a wonderful cast of memorable, often eccentric--bordering on outrageous--supporting characters. There's Miss Gwen, the prim, straight-laced chaperone with a penchant for prodding people with her parasol--up to and including Bonaparte himself! There's Lord Richard's delightful family--his constantly flirting parents and overeager little sister and his two best friends--quiet well-behaved Geoff (who tends to get forgotten amid Richard's boisterous family) and cheerful, irreverent Miles (who provides a large part of the boisterousness himself). There's Stiles, Richard's butler, an ex-actor who does all of his buttling in character as King Lear and who ends up as a pirate... The setting in Napoleonic Paris is very well done, and we encounter not only

A witty fresh read!

I do not often write reviews, but after finished reading the Secret History of the Pink Carnation, I was compellet to say that it was a joy from start to finish. The plot was fresh, the writing witty, and the humor light. The author does a great job weaving the past the present together. I could not put this book down! Can't wait to read the next instalment. Cheers!

a wonderful read

Warning: make sure that you have staked out enough of time to finish this novel before you begin this wonderful novel. It's another one of those unputdownables. Not because the books is tensely plotted, full of riveting twists and turns, but because it is one of those absolutely fun books that are a joy to read. After a dating debacle with her latest boy friend, graduate student Eliose Kelly applies for a grant to go to England do some research. Eliose is doing her doctoral thesis on British spies of the Regency period, spies like the Scarlet Pimpernel, the Purple Gentian and the Pink Carnation. And while everyone knows the identities of Scarlet Pimpernel and the Purple Gentian, the identity of the Pink Carnation has always been a mystery. And Eliose cannot find mention of him anywhere (not even the Public Records Office in Kew) except for in the tabloid-like newspapers. And so, quite desperate, she writes to the descendants of the Scarlet Pimpernel and the Purple Gentian, asking them for access to their records. She is rudely rebuffed by all except one: Mrs. Selwick-Alderly, a descendent of the Purple Gentian, invites her to tea, and obligingly enough gives her access to some letters in her possession. The letters are written by a young half-French lady, Aimee (Amy) Balcourt, a refugee of the French Revolution, who dreams of returning to France, and of helping her hero, the Purple Gentian, rout the despicable republicans who have taken over her country. Now, at lastin 1803, Amy's brother invites her to return home and to live with him. And for Amy, who has lived in rural Shropshire all these years dreaming of such an opportunity, it is a dream come true. And so, together with her favourite cousin and confidant, Jane, and a daunting chaperone, Miss Gwen, the three women cross the channel. Amy is sure that once she is in Paris, she will be able to quickly identify the English gentleman who is the Purple Gentian, and that he will gratefully accept her offer of help. But Amy is about to discover that dreams and reality are two different things, and that it might not be so easy to identify the Purple Gentian after all. And in the meantime, one must contend with that awful man, Richard Selwick, who, traitorously, seems to have no qualm about associating with the much despised republicans... I shall always be thankful that Lauren Willig took up writing! "The Secret History of the Pink Carnation" was a delightful read -- witty, humorous and loads of fun. The book is split into two subplots, one that takes place in 1803 and focuses Amy, and the other one in modern times that focuses on Eliose. Both are well done and cleverly juxtaposed so that you're left desperately wanting to know more at once -- will Amy finally realise who the Purple Gentian is? And how will Eliose's relationship with Colin Selwick ever progress beyond sniping? Engaging and deeply engrossing, I enjoyed the book thoroughly from start to finish -- there were no false notes. And I'm