The Elusive Pimpernel

Baroness Orczy

Jun 2022 · WordFire +ORM

About this ebook

A novel of swashbuckling action in the series featuring the classic hero who saves innocents from the guillotine in Revolutionary France . . .

“We seek him here! we seek him there!

Those Frenchies seek him everywhere!

Is he in heaven? Is he in hell?

That demmed elusive Pimpernel?”

Sir Percy thought he left his enemy vanquished, humiliated, and debased in Calais. Oh, how foolish he was. Now Chauvelin is bent on revenge . . .

As punishment for letting the Scarlet Pimpernel escape the clutches of the French Republic, Chauvelin was demoted from the ranks of Robespierre’s trusted few. But he will have his day. Laying a trap for the wife of Sir Percy, Lady Marguerite, is only the first step.

Can Sir Percy elude the blade of Madame Guillotine a second time, defend his honor as the Scarlet Pimpernel, and save his wife from a fate worse than death?

Baroness Emma Orczy brings us the third thrilling installment in her iconic adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel, pitting Sir Percy against the wily Chauvelin once again in a battle of wit and cunning that stands between thousands of innocent lives and the ignominious bite of Madame Guillotine. Credited with the introduction of the “hero with a secret identity” trope, the Scarlet Pimpernel and his exploits have captured the imaginations of readers for over a century. The series housing the most historical accuracies of French Revolution-centric fiction of its time, it also inspired a stage play garnering over 2,000 performances in four years. Join the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel and dive into the rollicking adventures of the masked hero of the French Revolution!

About the author

Baroness Emma Magdolna Rozália Mária Jozefa Borbála Orczy de Orci, or Baroness "Emmuska" Orczy to her friends and loved ones, was born on Sept 23, 1865, in Tarnaörs, Hungary. Her family, fearing a peasant revolution, fled to Budapest, eventually traveling to Brussels and Paris, where the Baroness lived until she was 14. From there they moved to London, where she attended two schools of art and met her husband, Henry George Montagu MacLean Barstow. They were married in 1894, and when she had her first child in 1899, she began her career as a writer. Her first novel, The Emperor's Candlesticks, was a failure, but the Baroness found success writing detective stories for The Royal Magazine. Her second novel, In Mary's Reign, was published in 1901, faring much better than her first. Then in 1903, she and her husband wrote a stage play based on one of her short stories. The Baroness also submitted a novelization of the play under the same title to twelve publishers. While waiting for word from the publishers, The Scarlet Pimpernel stage play was accepted for production in London's West End. It began by bringing small audiences, but ran for four years and became one of Britain's most popular plays. The Baroness wrote many more stories about the Scarlet Pimpernel, accumulating 15 novels and 19 short stories. She is credited with introducing “the hero with a secret identity" trope into popular culture, and was a founding member of The Detection Club, a group of British mystery writers such as Agatha Christie. Baroness Emma Orczy passed away in London on November 12, 1947, in London after a long, happy marriage and successful career.