Orczy: In a spirit of fun

[madeleinestjust]

We all love her, but has the Baroness' writing ever made you laugh? She isn't intentionally humorous (I don't think), but some of her dialogue makes me LOL. A selection of my favourites:

In TSP, a grimy, fist-clenching Sir Andrew grumbling that he would like to 'scrag the brute' always raises a smile.

In Elusive, Orczy parodies herself, wittingly or

Comments

[madeleinestjust]

Aw no, I didn't mean to start a thread poking holes in the woman, just to say if any dialogue or description has ever produced quite the wrong response, like some of her archaic phrases or the melodramatic reactions of her characters. Orczy wrote TSP at the close of the Victorian era and obviously had very Victorian sensibilities and style, but she is far from unique. I think her grasp of language (English - which was not her mother tongue - as well as French), not to mention her awareness of a bygone era, perfectly suits the time she was writing about. I have read some contemporary 'Gothic' romances of the eighteenth century, and the prose was varying shades of purple, yet lacking the captivating characters or the swift-paced adventure of Orczy!

[madeleinestjust]

Alright, I'll delete the comment if you want.

*Ack* - open mouth, insert foot! Sorry, this has all gone horribly wrong - I didn't mean to sound like Big Brother's little censor. Don't delete, please, your comment is completely valid - perhaps there's a discussion in whether or not Orczy's writing style is reader-friendly, instead!

[dame_grise]

That whole scene with Armand and Chauvelin makes me want to hide under the bed.

[madeleinestjust]

Why? I'm re-reading - well, listening to - Eldorado at the moment, and Armand is fascinating, not to mention how Orczy presents his character so well: he's not stupid, he's not a traitor, he's just completely overpowered by the strength of his emotions for Jeanne. I personally can't stand Jeanne, if she even rates a reaction at all, but Armand's obsession is completely believable - all he can think of is her. He can't leave Paris until he sees her again, why can't Percy understand this? Percy must have forgotten about Jeanne in his urgency to rescue the Dauphin, but Armand should be the one to rescue her - and he re-enters Paris to save her himself. And I love how he tries to imitate Percy and the League when face to face with Chauvelin - what would Percy do? (That should be an icon!)

Armand is just so youthful in Eldorado, he's a joy.

[dame_grise]

That scene is what reminds me constantly that he was very NOT in his right mind during a lot of Eldorado, but yes, his immediate reactions to his feelings is a lot like a teenager rebelling against a parent because "they just don't understand how deep our love is!"