Two Days Ago

      The prompt for week 57 of our GBE 2 group is "Two Days Ago".

Two Days Ago…

  I completed re-reading ‘The Scarlet Pimpernel’ by Baroness Orczy. The last time I read the book was 44 years back when I was in junior college .It was the first novel I had read! Till then, I was into Archie's comics and believe it or not, Phantom comics!

  My novel-reading journey started when I was introduced to novels by a class mate Savithri , who was a voracious reader. One day, I had accompanied her to our huge college library and as she was choosing her books, I stood there all lost amongst the racks and racks of books. She picked up the 'The Scarlet Pimpernel’ and told me that when I was done, I would be hooked to reading! Was she right? Indeed, yes! Baroness Orczy was followed by Daphne du Maurier, Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens, Jane Austin and the Bronte sisters. It was then, I was sure that I wanted to major in English literature in college as I was all at sea in science and maths. I realize that I'd been a slow starter at reading but then, I’m glad I did it finally!

 Coming back to ‘The Scarlet Pimpernel’ , the book is about Sir Percy Blakeney, a Georgian British society fop who leads a double life as a dandy and as the Scarlet Pimpernel, a superhero who rescues French aristocrats during the Reign of Terror that followed the French Revolution. Since Baroness Orczy put pen to paper, the Scarlet Pimpernel has been a source of inspiration to many twin life superheroes like Bruce Wayne/Batman, Clark Kent/Superman, Zorro and Phantom. I was so taken in by the 18th and 19th century royal settings and their genteel English language that Barbara Cartland and Georgette Heyer became my favorite light reads!

But then, reading classics is a delight and a league apart! They have stood the test of time .They began by surviving and survived by being fun to read. They have enchanted and entertained readers for decades! Moreover, I love to come across the many words that are no longer used!

 One of the saddest effects of modern society with distractions like video games, TV etc, has been to take young people away from the joy of reading great literature. Survey shows that youngsters of today prefer glossy magazines and contemporary best sellers to classic novels and favor watching the movie version of the classics to reading the books.

Why talk about the youngsters? I love the new chic lit novels as well,especially Sophie Kinsella and her shopaholic series!