Baroness Emmuska Orczy's The Scarlet Pimpernel

Written by the Baroness Emmuska Orczy, The Scarlet Pimpernel is a fictional work which follows the daring exploits of an Englishman who has the audacity to defy the French Revolution and spirit away the members of nobility who are facing imminent death. Originally published in book form in 1905, it had previously been offered to the public as a play. Since its publishing, The Scarlet Pimpernel has risen to recognition as a renowned piece of literature, and rightly so.

Throughout, The Scarlet Pimpernel provides a glimpse, albeit a romanticized glimpse, of the

French Revolution. Baroness Orczy imaginatively enters the turmoil of a period long past and, using her skill as a writer, reexamines history and presents a tale which follows the all too real plight of the French nobility while also appealing to the reader by the inclusion of and focus on the swashbuckling Pimpernel.

The Pimpernel’s charming of the original English audience may very well have been calculated by the Baroness. Her representation of the dashing, larger-than-life hero and his beautiful wife and lover follows a formula which has succeeded in winning the unwavering fascination

For one, the resolution of the book’s plot is a very satisfying one. Although brief, this brevity is actually a point in favor of the book, as it allows the reader to comprehend in the space of a few pages that all is as it should be. This is not to say, however, that the ending is the single highlight of the book. The entwining of the plans laid by the various characters throughout the story is also an aspect of the story which is greatly to be appreciated because it keeps the overall plot much more fascinating. These attributes, combined with others which go unmentioned, allow The Scarlet Pimpernel to be counted among the works of literature which provide much enjoyment for the