3 Review(s)

Baroness Emmuska Orczy’s The Scarlet Pimpernel is a classic tale of one man’s deeds of derring-do as he uses a secret identity to rescue people condemned to death by the guillotine. This book is the original story of a vigilante using a secret identity to save the lives of innocents and went on to influence the entire genre of vigilante based stories. Summary of the Book In the beginning of the French Revolution, hundreds of people were condemned to death by the guillotine. A beautiful French actress, Marguerite St. Just, is about to be married to Sir Percy Blakeney. Sir Percy is a baronet, and he has quite a boring reputation. He’s considered to be a dim-witted, foppish playboy. Marguerite exacts revenge against the Marquis de St. Cyr, who had her brother beaten for his romantic interest in the Marquis’ sister. This accidentally leads the Marquis and his sons straight to the guillotine. Disgusted, Sir Percy estranges himself from Marguerite. Marguerite soon becomes loses interest in him, bored of his mundane life. Soon, France and England echo with the news of a secret society calling themselves the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel. These twenty English aristocrats orchestrate grand escapes to save the French nobility from the Reign of Terror, where hundreds were killed on a daily basis. Central to their activities is their leader, the elusive Scarlet Pimpernel. This man becomes the central topic across all of France and soon, everyone wants to know who he is. Marguerite becomes enthralled with the stories of this mysterious vigilante. The secret she is not privy to is the fact that the Scarlet Pimpernel may be hiding in plain sight, in the guise of a man whom no one could ever suspect. About Baroness Emmuska Orczy Baroness Emma Magdolna Rozália Mária Jozefa Borbála "Emmuska" Orczy de Orczi was a British novelist, artist and playwright born in Hungary. She was born to nobility and is best remembered for her Scarlet Pimpernel series of novels. The Scarlet Pimpernel is the first known usage of the noble vigilante in fiction. This book went on to directly influence the creation of the characters of Zorro and Batman. It was also referenced in an episode of Looney Tunes where Daffy Duck plays the part of the Scarlet Pumpernickel. Series Reading Order The Scarlet Pimpernel’s adventures continue in I Will Repay, The Elusive Pimpernel, Eldorado, Lord Tony’s Wife, The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel, Sir Percy Hits Back, A Child of the Revolution, The Way of the Scarlet Pimpernel, Sir Percy Leads the Band and Mam'zelle Guillotine.