Orczy, Baroness: Scarlet Pimpernel Vol 1. v1. 16 May 07

[HarryT]

The first three books in the "Scarlet Pimpernel" series, by Baroness Orczy. "The Scarlet Pimpernel", and its many sequels tells the story of an swashbuckling English nobleman, Sir Percy Blakeney, and his daring adventures, in his "secret identity" of "The Scarlet Pimpernel", helping condemned French aristocrats escape to England during the "Reign of Terror" following the French revolution. The original book, published in 1905, was an instant success and made Orczy famous.

In this series, Orczy invented the idea of the hero with the dual identity. Sir Percy Blakeney, the Scarlet Pimpernel, is a rich fop by day and defender of the innocent by night, exactly like his literary descendants Don Diego Rivera/Zorro, Bruce Wayne/Batman, and many others. Orczy was also among the first writers to create a "band of brothers" who supported a dashing hero figure, and it is possible find traces of the Scarlet Pimpernel and his League in later figures such as Bulldog Drummond and the Black Gang and Doc Savage and his Fabulous Five.


The three books in this volume are:


The Scarlet Pimpernel

A band of titled Englishmen, led by the Scarlet Pimpernel, assists condemned aristocrats in their escape to England during the Reign of Terror.


I Will Repay

It is Paris, 1793, "the most seething time of that seething revolution. No one knew in the morning if his head would still be on his shoulders in the evening, or if it would be held up by citizen Samson the headsman, for the sansculottes of Paris to see." However, the Scarlet Pimpernel, Sir Percy Blakeney, is still at large to rescue France's aristocrats.


The Elusive Pimpernel

In this, the third book in the series, French agent and chief spy-catcher Chauvelin is as crafty as ever, but Sir Percy Blakeney is more than a match for his arch-enemy. Meanwhile the beautiful Marguerite remains wholly devoted to Sir Percy, her husband. Cue more swashbuckling adventures as Sir Percy attempts to smuggle French aristocrats out of the country to safety.


Enjoy!

This work is assumed to be in the Life+70 public domain OR the copyright holder has given specific permission for distribution. Copyright laws differ throughout the world, and it may still be under copyright in some countries. Before downloading, please check your country's copyright laws. If the book is under copyright in your country, do not download or redistribute this work.

To report a copyright violation you can contact us here.

[UncleDuke]

the scarlet pumpernickle, the best red bread available. great book. i'll read it again.

[Sawduster]

Gerat job on this series, I had downloaded the book form the kindle store and it was acceptable but your edit and proofing is exceptional!

[shootingMaNs]

Everytime I see this, I think of Daffy Duck.

Too much Looney Tunes as a kid!

[GA Russell]

I read this when I was in high school. I knew that this book was the first of the whole secret-identity-hero trip, but I didn't realize that it was a 20th century work.