Baroness Emma Orczy 
The Scarlet Pimpernel 

In Baroness Emma Orczy’s 1905 novel “The Scarlet Pimpernel”, the year is 1792 and the French Revolution is complete. People die by the guillotine every day, often unjustly. Stepping in to right these wrongs and rescue the innocent is the elusive “Scarlet Pimpernel”, a mysterious agent named for the red flower that is his signature. Meanwhile, foppish Sir Percy Blakeney and his french actress wife Marguerite are having marital difficulties when Marguerite is blackmailed by Citizen Chauvelin to give up information about the Pimpernel. But is there a connection between Sir Percy’s frequent trips to France and the Pimpernel’s daring deeds?

About the author

Baroness Emma Magdolna Rozália Mária Jozefa Borbála ‘Emmuska’ Orczy de Orci (1865-1947) was a Hungarian-born British novelist and playwright. She is best known for her series of novels featuring the Scarlet Pimpernel, the alter ego of Sir Percy Blakeney, a wealthy English fop who transforms into a formidable swordsman and a quick-thinking escape artist, establishing the ‘hero with a secret identity’ into popular culture.