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The Scarlet Pimpernel

1908 edition
Author	Baroness Emmuska Orczy
Language	English
Genre	Adventure, Historical novel
Publisher	Hutchinson
Publication date	1905
Publication place	United Kingdom
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	319 pp
ISBN	NA Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character
Preceded by	The First Sir Percy
Followed by	Sir Percy Leads the Band

The Scarlet Pimpernel is a classic play and adventure novel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, set during the Reign of Terror following the French Revolution. It was first produced as a record-breaking play in an adaptation by Julia Neilson and Fred Terry.

The play first opened on 15 October 1903 at Nottingham’s Theatre Royal; it was not a success. But Terry had confidence in the play and, with a re-written last act, he took it to London where it opened at the New Theatre on 5 January 1905. The standing ovation of the first night audience was "hot and strong", but not so the reaction of the critics the next morning. The jaded London critics, trying to champion new, "modern" plays, declaimed the "old-fashioned" Scarlet Pimpernel, but the play became a popular success. It began a run of 122 performances and numerous revivals, becoming a favourite of the London audiences - playing more than 2000 performances, one of the most popular shows ever staged in an English theatre.

The novel was published soon after the play's opening and was an immediate success. Orczy gained a following of readers in England and throughout the world. With the demand high, she wrote a number of sequels over the next 35 years.

The success of The Scarlet Pimpernel, in novel and play form, allowed Orczy and her husband to live out their lives in luxury and comfort. Over the years, they lived on an estate in Kent, a bustling London home and an opulent villa in Monte Carlo. Orczy continued to create adventures for her "reckless daredevil" and watch his incarnations take life throughout the world. The play was performed to great acclaim in France, Italy, Germany and Spain, while the novel was translated into 16 languages.

Orczy wrote in her autobiography, Links In the Chain of Life:

I have so often been asked the question: "But how did you come to think of The Scarlet Pimpernel?" And my answer has always been: "It was God's will that I should." And to you moderns, who perhaps do not believe as I do, I will say, "In the chain of my life, there were so many links, all of which tended towards bringing me to the fulfillment of my destiny..."

The literary character

A secret society of English aristocrats, known as the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel, is engaged in rescuing their French counterparts from the guillotine. Their leader, the Scarlet Pimpernel, takes his nickname from the small red flower with which he signs his messages. Despite being the talk of London society, no one except his small band of 19 followers, and possibly his close friend, the Prince of Wales, knows the Pimpernel's true identity.

Plot summary

Set in 1792, the action takes place during the early days of the French Revolution. Marguerite Blakeney, a beautiful French actress, is married to wealthy English fop Sir Percy Blakeney, a baronet, and they live in England. The couple has become estranged due to her earlier unintentional denunciation of French aristocrat the Marquis de St. Cyr and his family, which resulted in their being sent to the guillotine.

Like many others, Marguerite is entranced by stories of the Scarlet Pimpernel—an anonymous hero who, through a combination of courage and daring, has rescued many aristocrats from Madame la Guillotine, and brought them safely to England. Marguerite's beloved brother, Armand, is discovered to be part of the Scarlet Pimpernel's organization, and he is therefore in danger of being executed.

Marguerite is blackmailed by the wily French ambassador to England, Citizen Chauvelin; if she helps him uncover the Pimpernel's identity, Armand's life will be spared. She cannot face the thought of losing her brother, and she hopes that the Pimpernel will be able to save him. She is forced to do as Chauvelin wishes.

Contemptuous of her seemingly witless and unloving husband, Marguerite does not go to him for help, and passes along information which enables Chauvelin to learn the Pimpernel's true identity.

They seek him here, They seek him there,
Those Frenchies seek him everywhere.
Is he in heaven?
—Is he in hell?
That demmed, elusive Pimpernel.

When Sir Percy leaves for France, Marguerite discovers, to her horror, that he is the Pimpernel—the man she has betrayed, who had created the persona of a witless fop in order to deceive the world as to his true activities, and who could not reveal the truth to Marguerite because of his belief that she would denounce him to the French revolutionaries. Desperate to make amends for her actions she follows Percy to France to try to warn him.

Chauvelin seems close to capturing Percy on several occasions, but the Englishman continues to outwit him, rescuing Armand and the Comte de Tourney, the father of a school friend of Marguerite's.

Safely back on board their schooner, the Day Dream, and touched by his wife's remorse, devotion and courage, he forgives her, and the reconciled couple returns to England.

Sequels

Baroness Orczy wrote numerous sequels that revolve around the other characters with whom Blakeney comes into contact, and the activities of his followers, Lord Tony Dewhurst, Sir Andrew Ffoulkes, Lord Hastings, and Marguerite's brother, Armand St. Just.

These include The Laughing Cavalier (1914) and The First Sir Percy (1921), about an ancestor of the Pimpernel's; Pimpernel and Rosemary (1924), about a descendant; and The Scarlet Pimpernel Looks at the World (1933), a depiction of the 1930s world from the point of view of Sir Percy.

Some of her non-related Revolutionary-period novels reference the Scarlet Pimpernel or the League, most notably The Bronze Eagle (1915).

Scarlet Pimpernel books

Novels

• The Scarlet Pimpernel (play 1903, novel 1905)
• I will Repay (1906)
• The Elusive Pimpernel (1908)
• Eldorado (1913)
• Lord Tony's Wife (1917)
• The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1922)
• Sir Percy Hits Back (1927)
• A Child of the Revolution (1932)
• The Way of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1933)
• Sir Percy Leads the Band (1936)
• Mam'zelle Guillotine (1940)

Collections of short stories

• The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1919)
• Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1929)

Omnibus editions

• The Scarlet Pimpernel etc (1930) collection of four novels
• The Gallant Pimpernel (1939) collection of four novels
• The Scarlet Pimpernel Omnibus (1952) collection of four novels

Related books

• The Laughing Cavalier (1913) (about an ancestor of the Scarlet Pimpernel)
• The First Sir Percy (1920) (about an ancestor of the Scarlet Pimpernel)
• Pimpernel and Rosemary (1924) (about a relation of the Scarlet Pimpernel)
• The Scarlet Pimpernel looks at the World (1933)
• A Gay Adventurer A biography of Sir Percy Blakeney, Bart. (1935) (written by 'John Blakeney' pseud. (John Montagu Orczy Barstow))
• The Life and exploits of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1938) (written by 'John Blakeney' pseud. (John Montagu Orczy Barstow) ) n.b. re-release of 'A Gay Adventurer'

• The Secret History of the Pink Carnation (2005) (written by Lauren Willig) see 'Other versions' below.

Chronology

Baroness Orczy did not publish her Pimpernel stories as a strict chronological series, and in fact, the settings of the books in their publication sequence can vary forward or backward in time by months or centuries. While some readers enjoy following the author's development of the Pimpernel character as it was realized, others prefer to read the stories in historical sequence. Taking into account occasional discrepancies in the dates of events (real and fictional) referred to in the stories, the following is an approximate chronological listing of Baroness Orczy's Scarlet Pimpernel novels and short stories:

Members of the League

A. The original nine League or founder members who formed the party on August 2nd, 1792:

• Sir Andrew Ffoulkes (second in command)
• Lord Anthony Dewhurst
• Lord Edward Hastings
• Lord John Bathurst
• Lord Stowmarries
• Sir Edward Mackenzie
• Sir Philip Glynde
• Lord Saint Denys
• Sir Richard Galveston

B. Ten members enrolled on January, 1793:

• Sir Jeremiah Wallescourt
• Lord Kulmstead
• Lord George Fanshawe
• Anthony Holte
• John Hastings (Lord Edward's cousin)
• Lord Everingham
• Sir George Vigor, Bart.
• The Hon. St. John Devinne
• Michael Barstow of York
• Armand St. Just (Marguerite's brother)

Marguerite, Lady Blakeney, is also named as a member of the League in the book Mam'zelle Guillotine, but it is not known when she was formally enrolled.

Adaptations

Hollywood took to the Pimpernel early and often, though most of the Pimpernel movies have been based on a melange of the original book and another Orczy novel, Eldorado.

• The Scarlet Pimpernel (1917)
• The Laughing Cavalier (1917)
• The Elusive Pimpernel (1919)
• The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1928)
• The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934)
• Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1937)
• Pimpernel Smith (1941)
• Pimpernel Svensson (1950)
• The Elusive Pimpernel (1950) aka The Fighting Pimpernel - USA
• Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1955 mini-series)

• The Scarlet Pimpernel (1960) (TV)
• Don't Lose Your Head (1966) aka Carry on Pimpernel - USA
• The Elusive Pimpernel (1969)
• The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982) (TV)
• The Scarlet Pimpernel (1987) (TV)
• The Scarlet Pimpernel (1997), a 1997 Broadway musical composed by Frank Wildhorn and written by Nan Knighton. The production starred Douglas Sills as Sir Percy Blakeney, Christine Andreas as Marguerite Blakeney, and Terrence Mann as Citizen Chauvelin.
• The Scarlet Pimpernel, two TV series of three episodes each (1999, 2000): "The Scarlet Pimpernel", "Valentin Gautier" /"The Scarlet Pimpernel Meets Madame Guillotine" , "The King's Ransom" /"The Scarlet Pimpernel and the Kidnapped King" , "Ennui", "Friends and Enemies", "A Good Name"). The BBC production, with Richard E. Grant in the title role and Martin Shaw as Chauvelin, took many liberties with the characters and plot, and was not well received by fans of the books.
• The Forecourt Pimpernel (2001) (TV)
• The Black Pimpernel (2006)

Parodies and games

The novel has been parodied as a Warner Bros. cartoon short featuring Daffy Duck (as "The Scarlet Pumpernickel"), in 1954. A figure of the Scarlet Pumpernickel was released by DC Direct in 2006, making it one of the few--if not the only--toys produced based on the Pimpernel.

The Canadian comedy team of Wayne and Shuster created a comedy sketch based on the Scarlet Pimpernel called "The Brown Pumpernickel".

Steve Jackson Games published GURPS Scarlet Pimpernel, by Robert Traynor and Lisa Evans, in 1991, a supplement for playing the milieu using the GURPS roleplaying game system.

Media references

In 1987, the BBC sitcom Blackadder the Third included an episode, "Nob and Nobility", in which the Scarlet Pimpernel is praised by everyone, apart from Mr. E. Blackadder, who sees nothing admirable in "filling London with a load of garlic-chewing French toffs... looking for sympathy all the time simply because their fathers had their heads cut off". The episode ends with Blackadder killing two noblemen claiming to be the Pimpernel and his partner. Prince George was about to give some money to the Pimpernel just before he died, so Blackadder claims to be the real Pimpernel in order to get the money.

There has also been a recent string of novels by Harvard graduate student Lauren Willig, beginning with The Secret History of the Pink Carnation. These novels chronicle the adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel's associates, including the Purple Gentian (alias of Lord Richard Selwick).

Sir Percy and Marguerite are mentioned as members of an 18th century incarnation of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen in the graphic novels of that title by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill.

The TV series Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp had an episode entitled "The Scarlet Chimpernel", in which the title character, after slipping on a banana peel, has a fantasy where he is the Scarlet Pimpernel. The part of Marguerite is filled by Mata Hairi.

The seventh episode of the 2007 season of the TV series Midsomer Murders, "They Seek Him Here", centers around a shooting of a remake of The Scarlet Pimpernel. A setting with a guillotine becomes prominent when the director is decapitated.

In the 2006 Tenacious D movie "Pick Of Destiny" the devil has a "rock-off" with the lead characters in which he says, "I'll make him squeal like my Scarlet Pimpernel."

In the Danny Kaye musical film The Court Jester, the infant king is identified by the "purple pimpernel" on his backside.

The Scarlet Pimpernel is a member of the Wold Newton family a concept created by Philip Jose Farmer

The credits of the movie Fitna, produced by Geert Wilders, refers to the movie's director as "The Scarlet Pimpernel".

Real-life tie-ins

'The Tartan Pimpernel'

Inspired by the title Scarlet Pimpernel, the Tartan Pimpernel was a nickname given to the Reverend Donald Caskie (1902-1983), formerly minister of the Paris congregation of the Church of Scotland, for aiding over 2,000 Allied service personnel to escape from occupied France during World War II.

'The American Pimpernel'

Varian Fry, was a 32-year-old Harvard-educated classicist and editor from New York City, who helped save thousands of endangered refugees who were caught in Vichy France escape from Nazi terror during World War II. His story is told in American Pimpernel - the Man Who Saved the Artists on Hitler's Death List

'The Black Pimpernel'

Harald Edelstam (1913–1989) was a Swedish diplomat. During World War II, he earned the nickname Svarta nejlikan ("the Black Pimpernel") for helping Norwegian resistance fighters in Hjemmefronten escape from the Germans.

This name was also given to Nelson Mandela prior to his arrest and long incarceration for his anti-apartheid activities in South Africa due to his effective use of disguises when evading capture by the police.

Raoul Wallenberg

Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat, was directly inspired by the film Pimpernel Smith to begin rescuing Hungarian Jews during World War II. Wallenberg issued false passports identifying the Jews as Swedish nationals, and is credited with rescuing at least 15,000 Jews. He later died in a Soviet prison camp.

Historical accuracy

The Baroness's sympathies were plainly with the aristocracy and in truth, she was more interested in telling a good tale than in strict historical accuracy. To this end, Orczy frequently distorted real historical figures and events so they could be woven into the storylines of the books, placing the Scarlet Pimpernel and his league in the middle of the action.

In particular, the career of Chauvelin, the recurring villain of the series, is much altered; named Armand Chauvelin in the books, in fact, Bernard-François, marquis de Chauvelin, survived the Revolutionary period to become an official under Napoleon I of France and a noted liberal Deputy under the Bourbon Restoration.

Other real life historical figures who crop up in the series include:

• Maximilien Robespierre
• Louis de Saint-Just
• Jean-Lambert Tallien
• Thérésa Cabarrus
• Georges Danton
• François Chabot
• Fabre d'Églantine
• Claude Bazire
• Baron Jean de Batz
• Jean-Paul Marat
• Paul Barras
• Georges Couthon
• Bertrand Barère de Vieuzac
• Éléonore Duplay

References

1. "The Archivist". collectionscanada.ca (Library and Archives Canada). April 10 2000. Retrieved 2007-10-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
2. Joan Baez (November 6 1981). "Human Rights in the 80s: Seeing Through Both Eyes". commonwealthclub.org. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
3. Time Magazine article The Black Pimpernel, August 17 1962

External links

• The Scarlet Pimpernel at Project Gutenberg
• Additional information and digital copies of all books available at Blakeney Manor
• Free download The Scarlet Pimpernel ebook in Tomeraider format
• Public domain audio rendition in MP3 format (based on Project Gutenberg text)
• The Scarlet Pimpernel free downloads in PDF, PDB and LIT formats

• 1903 plays
• 1905 novels
• Historical novels
• Novel series
• Public domain characters
• Novels by Baroness Orczy
• Baroness Orczy plays