Novel
High School (9–12)
Adult Learners
Historical Fiction
Women’s Voices
European Voices
1900–1949
The Scarlet Pimpernel
by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
Reading Levels
Languages
Summary
About The Author
Key Themes
Publication Year
Historical Context
Content Disclaimer
Reading Levels
Total words
84,055
Unique Words
7,834
Reading Ease
Languages
English, Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian.
Summary
In "The Scarlet Pimpernel" by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, a daring English nobleman, Sir Percy Blakeney, secretly leads a band of heroes to rescue aristocrats from the guillotine during the French Revolution. Disguised as the elusive Scarlet Pimpernel, he outwits his enemies while maintaining his cover as a foppish aristocrat, highlighting themes of bravery, sacrifice, and the fight for justice.
About The Author
Baroness Emmuska Orczy (1865–1947) was a Hungarian-born British author and playwright best known for her historical novel The Scarlet Pimpernel. Her work, characterized by its adventurous plots and vivid characters, contributed significantly to the genre of romantic adventure fiction. Orczy's creation of the iconic hero, the Scarlet Pimpernel, has left a lasting legacy in literature and popular culture.
Key Themes
Heroism, sacrifice, identity and disguise, loyalty, social class.
Publication Year
1905
Historical Context
"The Scarlet Pimpernel" by Baroness Emmuska Orczy was published in 1905, during the Edwardian era in Britain, a time characterized by social change and the waning of the British Empire's global dominance. The novel reflects the fascination with heroism and adventure, set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, a period of significant political upheaval and class conflict. Its historical significance lies in its pioneering role in the genre of the adventure novel and its introduction of the "hero with a secret identity," influencing later works in literature and popular culture.
Content Disclaimer
Contains themes of violence and political persecution during the French Revolution, including executions and class conflict.