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The Scarlet Pimpernel
By: Baroness Orczy
Sir Percy Blakeney, Baronet
On the surface, Sir Percy appears to be a rich Englishman who, to all the world, is a complete fop. His lazy eyes and inane laughs are well known and his dim-witted nature laughed at. But as those of us who've read The Scarlet Pimpernel know, such a description doesn't portray the true Sir Percy or even scratch the surface of this magnificant personage.
Such a description does not tell of the keen brain that has wondrous ability to think up the impossible and pull it off. It does not tell of a passionate man deeply in love with his wife, yet separated from her initially for the safety of the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel and the fugitives from France carried to safety by the Noble Scarlet Pimpernel. His sacrifices of comfort and ease and the possibility of losing his head for the sake of humanity.
Percy's story is indeed a facinating one. He grew up in the care of others as his mother had been stricken with a terrible malady when he was young, and his father continually attended her, thus leaving Percy practically parentless. Percy was a wild boy in his youth with a wild imagination. He thought nothing of tying up the neighbor girl so he could rescue her as a "damsel in distress". The surrounding neighborhood was not at all happy with his antics, but Percy was hard to stay mad at.
Later Percy went off to school after plenty of mishaps with tutors and such. There he met lifelong friends such as Sir Andrew Ffoulkes and William Pitt. Initially Percy only did enough work to get by, frustrating his teachers who knew what a good mind was lurking inside. But in his admiration for the studious William Pitt, protected the young scholar from other bullies and studied under him.
During his stay at the school, Percy was the ringleader of numerous pranks, a school mutiny, and many other events. His mother, and later his father died, leaving Percy a decent sized fortune. He stayed for a bit, but eventually went home and took over the reigns of his new estate. He became a part of society and an intimate friend of the Prince of Wales. Soon, however, Percy became incredibly bored with such a life. Things were heating up over in France and, after time and consideration, Percy decided to try his hand at resueing real people.
Percy met with some humiliating failures, then a few successes. It didn't take him long to realize he was going to need help in order to be successful. Through a long chain of events following this, the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel was formed.
The League
The original League Members(9): 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, Sir Richard Galveston.
Later Members (10): Sir Jeremia Wallescourt, Lord Kulmstead (the only traitor to the band), George Fanshaw, Anthony Holte, John Hastings (Lord Edward's cousin), Lord Everingham, Sir George Vigor, Bart., The Hon. St. John Devinne, Michael Barstow of York, Armand St. Just (Marguerite's brother).
The Bad Guys
Chauvelin, Robespiere, Fumiere, Mam'zelle Guillotine, etc. In other words, all those who dared attempt to take the life of the innocent, of the Scarlet Pimpernel and his League, and make life miserable for all. They are those who deserve the guillotine for their actions.
The Rescued
"It is estimated that Sir Percy and his League rescued close on a thousand men, women, and children in all: unfortunately, however, all are not recorded. Many narratives of the emigres to England whose escape from revolutionary France have been attributed to the Scarlet Pimpernel, were found to be conjectures of later additions, and therefore untrustworthy."
The Author
Baroness Emmuska Orczy...(more to come)....
The Books
The Scarlet Pimpernel (1905)
I Will Repay (1906)
The Elusive Pimpernel(1908)
Eldorado (1913)
Lord Tony's Wife (1917)
The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1919)
The Way of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1933)
Sir Percy Leads the Band (1936)
Mam'zelle Guillotine (1940)
Sir Percy Hits Back (1927)
The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1922)
The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1929)
The First Sir Percy (1920)
The Laughing Cavalier (1914)
Pimpernel and Rosemary (1924)
Child of the Revolution (1933)
The Scarlet Pimpernel Looks at the World
The Movies
1982 The Scarlet Pimpernel Starring: Anthony Andrews and Jane Seymour; A&E version w/ Richard Grant.
Links:
Sir Percy's Place
Blakeney Manor
Much of the information given here is from The Life and Exploits of the Scarlet Pimpernel by John Blakeney. If you are interested in reading it online, the above link contains that and other Scarlet Pimpernel books online.
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Last updated July 10, 2000
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