The Scarlet Pimpernel is a play and adventure novel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy set during the Reign of Terror following the start of the French Revolution. The title character, Sir Percy Blakeney, represents the original "hero with a secret identity" that inspired subsequent literary creations such as Don Diego de la Vega (El Zorro) and Bruce Wayne (Batman).
Sir Percy is a wealthy English baronet who rescues individuals sentenced to death in the guillotine. He soon reveals himself to be a master of disguise, an imaginative planner, a formidable swordsman and a quick-thinking escape artist. With each rescue he taunts his enemies by leaving behind a card showing a small flower—a scarlet pimpernel. The identity of the Scarlet Pimpernel thus becomes a topic of widespread popular interest and the hero himself becomes the subject of an international manhunt by the French revolutionary authorities. To hide his true identity, Sir Percy presents himself in everyday life as a dim-witted, foppish playboy. His secret is kept by a band of friends known as the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel. The league operates as an undercover team in enacting Sir Percy's rescue plans.
Events in the original novel are related from the point of view of his wife, Marguerite St. Just.
Baroness Orczy's general sympathy with aristocrats is evident in her stories, where nobility of birth and nobility of character easily correspond. Even so, her tales present commoners as capable of selfless and heroic actions. Marguerite St. Just and her brother Armand, both commoners who initially help bring about the French Revolution, work closely with Sir Percy as members of the League.
Orczy's original play, The Scarlet Pimpernel, was produced and adapted by Julia Neilson and Fred Terry. It opened on 15 October 1903 at Nottingham’s Theatre Royal and was not a success. Terry, however, had confidence in the play and, with a rewritten last act, took it to London where it opened at the New Theatre on 5 January 1905. The premier of the London production was enthusiastically received by the audience, but critics considered the play 'old-fashioned.' In spite of negative reviews, the play became a popular success, running 122 performances and enjoying numerous revivals. The Scarlet Pimpernel became a favourite of London audiences, playing more than 2,000 performances and becoming one of the most popular shows staged in England to that date.
The novel The Scarlet Pimpernel was published soon after the play opened and was an immediate success. Orczy gained a following of readers in Britain and throughout the world. The popularity of the novel encouraged her to write a number of sequels for her "reckless daredevil" over the next 35 years. The play was performed to great acclaim in France, Italy, Germany and Spain, while the novel was translated into 16 languages. Subsequently, the story has been adapted for television, film, a musical and other media.
The international success of The Scarlet Pimpernel allowed Orczy and her husband to live out their lives in luxury. Over the years, they lived on an estate in Kent, a bustling London home and an opulent villa in Monte Carlo. 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 Scarlet Pimpernel is set in 1792, during the early stages of the French Revolution. Marguerite St. Just, a beautiful French actress, is the wife of wealthy English fop Sir Percy Blakeney, a baronet. Before their marriage, Marguerite took revenge upon the Marquis de St. Cyr, who had ordered her brother to be beaten for his romantic interest in the Marquis' daughter, with the unintended consequence of the Marquis and his sons being sent to the guillotine. When Percy found out, he became estranged from his wife. Marguerite, for her part, became disillusioned with Percy's shallow, dandyish lifestyle.
Meanwhile, the "League of the Scarlet Pimpernel", a secret society of twenty English aristocrats, "one to command, and nineteen to obey", is engaged in rescuing their French counterparts from the daily executions (see Reign of Terror). Their leader, the mysterious Scarlet Pimpernel, takes his nickname from the drawing of a small red flower with which he signs his messages. Despite being the talk of London society, only his followers and possibly the Prince of Wales know the Pimpernel's true identity. Like many others, Marguerite is entranced by the Pimpernel's daring exploits.
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 Blakeney (ch.12)
At a ball attended by the Blakeneys, a verse by Percy about the "elusive Pimpernel" makes the rounds and amuses the other guests. Meanwhile, Marguerite is blackmailed by the wily new French envoy to England, Citizen Chauvelin. Chauvelin's agents have stolen a letter incriminating her beloved brother Armand, proving that he is in league with the Pimpernel. Chauvelin offers to trade Armand's life for her help against the Pimpernel. Contemptuous of her seemingly witless and unloving husband, Marguerite does not go to him for help or advice. Instead, she passes along information which enables Chauvelin to learn the Pimpernel's true identity.
Later that night, Marguerite finally tells her husband of the terrible danger threatening her brother and pleads for his assistance. Percy promises to save him. After Percy unexpectedly leaves for France, Marguerite discovers to her horror that he is the Pimpernel. He had hidden behind the persona of a dull, slow-witted fop in order to deceive the world. He had not told Marguerite because of his worry that she might betray him, as she had the Marquis de St. Cyr. Desperate to save her husband, she decides to pursue Percy to France to warn him that Chauvelin knows his identity and his purpose. She persuades Sir Andrew Ffoulkes to accompany her, but because of the tide and the weather, neither they nor Chauvelin can leave immediately.
At Calais, Percy openly approaches Chauvelin in a decrepit inn (the Chat gris), whose owner is in Percy's pay. Despite Chauvelin's best efforts, the Englishman manages to escape by offering Chauvelin a pinch of snuff, which turned out to be pure pepper. When Chauvelin took this pinch, he effectively incapacitated himself. Through a bold plan executed right under Chauvelin's nose, Percy rescues Marguerite's brother Armand and the Comte de Tournay, the father of a schoolfriend of Marguerite's. Marguerite pursues Percy right to the very end, resolute that she must either warn him or share his fate. Percy, heavily disguised, is captured by Chauvelin, but he does not recognise him, and he is enabled to escape.
With Marguerite's love and courage amply proven, Percy's ardour is rekindled. Safely back on board their schooner, the Day Dream, the happily reconciled couple returns to England. Sir Andrew marries the Count's daughter, Suzanne.
Baroness Orczy wrote numerous sequels, none of which became as famous as The Scarlet Pimpernel. Many of the sequels revolve around French characters whom Sir Percy has met and is attempting to rescue. His followers, such as Lord Tony Dewhurst, Sir Andrew Ffoulkes, Lord Hastings, and Armand St. Just (Marguerite's brother), also take their turn in major roles.
In addition to the direct sequels about Sir Percy and his league, Orczy's related books 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).
The Life and Exploits of the Scarlet Pimpernel, a fictional biography of Percy Blakeney published in 1938, named the nineteen members of the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel.
The original nine League or founder members who formed the party on August 2, 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, and Sir Richard Galveston.
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, and 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.
As a writer Baroness Orczy often alluded to historical events and figures but adapted these freely in creating her tales.
Citizen Chauvelin, the recurring villain of the Scarlet Pimpernel series, is based to some extent on the real-life Bernard-François, marquis de Chauvelin, who survived the Revolutionary period to serve as an official under Napoleon I of France. He was a noted liberal Deputy under the Bourbon Restoration.
Other real life historical figures who appear in Orczy's Pimpernel 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
Scarlet Pimpernel publications
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'
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 may 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:
Book Title Setting Notes
The Laughing Cavalier January 1623
The First Sir Percy March 1624
The Scarlet Pimpernel September–October 1792
Sir Percy Leads the Band January 1793
The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel July 1793
I Will Repay August–September 1793
The Elusive Pimpernel September–October 1793
Lord Tony's Wife November–December 1793
The Way of the Scarlet Pimpernel late 1793 concurrent with preceding 2 or 3 novels
Eldorado January 1794 unclear whether before, after, or concurrent with Mam'zelle Guillotine
Mam'zelle Guillotine January 1794 unclear whether before, after, or concurrent with Eldorado
Sir Percy Hits Back May–June 1794
Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel 1794? exact dates unclear
The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel April 1794 seems to have happened later than dates indicate
A Child of the Revolution July 1794
Pimpernel and Rosemary 1917–1924
Hollywood took to the Pimpernel early and often, although most of the Pimpernel movies have been based on a melange of the original book and another Orczy novel, Eldorado. The most well-known of the Pimpernel movies is the 1934 The Scarlet Pimpernel starring Leslie Howard, is considered the definitive adaptation by some.
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 in the USA, starring David Niven as Sir Percy
The Scarlet Pimpernel (1955–1956 British television 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), starring Anthony Andrews as Sir Percy, Jane Seymour as Marguerite, and Ian McKellen (then known primarily as a stage actor) as Chauvelin
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" [UK title]/"The Scarlet Pimpernel Meets Madame Guillotine" [US title], "The King's Ransom" [UK title]/"The Scarlet Pimpernel and the Kidnapped King" [US title], "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)
The Scarlet Pimpernel (2008), a Broadway style Japanese adaptation, performed by the popular all-women's Takarazuka Revue in Osaka, Japan
The novel has been parodied or used as source material in a variety of media, such as films, TV, stage works, literature, and games. It was parodied as a 1950 Warner Bros. cartoon short featuring Daffy Duck: "The Scarlet Pumpernickel". An action 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 Scarlet Pimpernel was parodied extensively in the Carry On film Don't Lose Your Head which featured Sid James as the Black Fingernail, who helps French aristocrats escape the guilotine while hiding behind the foppish exterior of British aristocrat Sir Rodney Ffing. It also features Jim Dale as his assistant, Lord Darcy. They must rescue preposterously effete aristocrat Charles Hawtrey from the clutches of Kenneth Williams' fiendish Citizen Camembert and his sidekick Citizen Bidet (Peter Butterworth). In The Court Jester, the baby heir to the throne has a birthmark known as "the purple pimpernel".
In 1987, the BBC sitcom Blackadder the Third included an episode, "Nob and Nobility", in which the Scarlet Pimpernel is praised by everyone except 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.
Other TV references include the series Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp, which had an episode entitled "The Scarlet Chimpernel". The title character 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. Several episodes of the CBBC series ChuckleVision featured the Chuckle Brothers encountering the "Purple Pimple", aka Sir Percy, played by Barry Killerby.
In Moon Over Buffalo, the stage play by Ken Ludwig, the lead character, George, hoping to be cast by Frank Capra as the Scarlet Pimpernel. In The Desert Song, the heroic "Red Shadow" has a milquetoast alter ego modelled after The Scarlet Pimpernel. The Canadian comedy team of Wayne and Shuster created a comedy sketch in 1957 based on the Scarlet Pimpernel called "The Brown Pumpernickel" in which, instead of a red flower as his calling card, the hero would leave behind a loaf of pumpernickel.
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 and make a more significant appearance in The Black Dossier, in the accounts of both Orlando and Fanny Hill, with whom Percy and Marguerite are revealed to have been romantically involved. In the third book in the TimeWars series, The Pimpernel Plot, Sir Percy is killed in an accident at the beginning of his career as the Scarlet Pimpernel, and a time traveler must act the part of Sir Percy to preserve history. The Scarlet Pimpernel is a member of the Wold Newton family, a concept created by Philip Jose Farmer. In addition, a series of novels by Lauren Willig, beginning with The Secret History of the Pink Carnation (2005), chronicle the adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel's associates, including the Purple Gentian (alias of Lord Richard Selwick), spies in the Napoleonic era.
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. In the 1998 Wizards of the Coast game Guillotine, there is an action card named The Scarlet Pimpernel, which instantly ends the day after the next noble is collected.
Writer Geoffrey Trease wrote his adventure novel, Thunder of Valmy (1960; US title Victory at Valmy) partly as a response to Orczy's Pimpernel novels, which he argued were giving children a misleading image of the French Revolution. Thunder of Valmy revolves around the adventures of a peasant boy, Pierre Mercier, during the start of the Revolution, and his persection by a tyrannical Marquis.
