The Scarlet Pimpernel

‘The Scarlet Pimpernel’ is the first novel in a series of historical fiction by Baroness Orczy. It is a timeless novel of adventure, intrigue, and romance sparked by one man's defiance in the face of authority. The novel is set during the Reign of Terror following the French Revolution. The title is the war name of its hero and protagonist, a chivalrous Englishman who rescues aristocrats before they are sent to the guillotine.

In the thick of the French Revolution, only one man stands as a savior to the aristocracy of Paris. The Scarlet Pimpernel is on a mission to whisk endangered nobles across the English channel while maintaining his alter-identity as a well-dressed English dandy. This fun tale of romance, adventure and intrigue was initially written by Baroness Orczy as a play and has been adapted for stage and screen.

Baroness Orczy (1865-1947) was a Hungarian-born British author, best known for her Scarlet Pimpernel novels. Her Teahouse Detective, who features in Unravelled Knots, was one of the first fictional sleuths created in response to the Sherlock Holmes stories' huge success. Initially serialised in magazines, the stories in this collection were first published in book form in 1908 and have since been adapted for radio, television and film. Two other collections of Teahouse Detective mysteries are available from Pushkin Vertigo.