The Scarlet Pimpernel

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy is an adventurous novel about Sir Percy Blakeney, a wealthy Englishman who disguised himself under the false pretence of The Scarlet Pimpernel, a brave and clever man who used preposterous disguises to free innocent French aristocrats that had been convicted and were waiting to be put to death under the wrath of Madame Guillotine. Sir Blakeney was married to Marguerite St. Just, known to be the most beautiful and smartest women in Europe, but in France she was considered a traitor for revealing the Marquis de St. Cyr and his whole family to the bloody guillotine to help her brother Armand get revenge for almost being killed for loving the daughter of an aristocrat. This act of hers disgusted Blakeney, who started showing no love for her even though he would have done anything for her. Although Marguerite still loved her dear Percy, she couldn’t help feeling that he was a pompous jerk. Sir Blakeney’s arch-nemesis Monsieur Chauvelin struck a deal with Marguerite in her assistance to capture the Scarlet Pimpernel and his league in return for her brother’s safe release, as Chauvelin had captured him. Soon after, she realized what a horrible thing she had done and repents to Sir Blakeney, disclosing all the information she knows about Chauvelin’s plan. Sir Blakeney promised to protect Armand and stop Chauvelin by sailing to France. After he had left, Marguerite found several letters in his room stamped with the Scarlet Pimpernel. She realized that he is the Scarlet Pimpernel and enlisted the help of Sir Andrew Ffoulkes. They sailed to Calais as fast as they could in an attempt to warn Sir Blakeney that Chauvelin knew his identity. Their attempt was in vein, but Sir Blakeney was clever enough to figure out what was in store for him. He escaped Chauvelin’s trap and released Armand, revealing Chauvelin as a cruel man and casting a shadow over his name and condemning him to the guillotine. The Scarlet Pimpernel is a story of