The Scarlet Pimpernel

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For other uses, see The Scarlet Pimpernel (disambiguation).
The Scarlet Pimpernel
Cover of the 1908 edition
1908 edition
Author Baroness Emmuska Orczy
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Genre(s) Adventure, Historical novel
Publisher Hutchinson
Publication date 1905
Media type Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages 319 pp
ISBN NA
Preceded by The First Sir Percy
Followed by Sir Percy Leads the Band
Fred Terry in The Scarlet Pimpernel, 1905
Fred Terry in The Scarlet Pimpernel, 1905
Anagallis arvensis, the Scarlet Pimpernel flower
Anagallis arvensis, the Scarlet Pimpernel flower

The Scarlet Pimpernel is a classic play and adventure novel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, set during the Reign of Terror following the French Revolution. It was first produced as a record-breaking play in an adaptation by Julia Neilson and Fred Terry.

The play first opened on 15 October 1903 at Nottingham’s Theatre Royal; it was not a success. But Terry had confidence in the play and, with a rewritten last act, he took it to London where it opened at the New Theatre on 5 January 1905. The standing ovation of the first night audience proved him right, but the critics were unimpressed. The London critics criticized it as old-fashioned. Despite that, the play became a popular success. It began a run of 122 performances and numerous revivals, becoming a favourite of the London audiences - playing more than 2000 performances, one of the most popular shows ever staged in an English theatre.

The novel was published soon after the play's opening and was an immediate success. Orczy gained a following of readers in England and throughout the world. With the demand high, she wrote a number of sequels over the next 35 years.

The success of The Scarlet Pimpernel, in novel and play form, allowed Orczy and her husband to live out their lives in luxury and comfort. Over the years, they lived on an estate in Kent, a bustling London home and an opulent villa in Monte Carlo. Orczy continued to create adventures for her "reckless daredevil" and watch his incarnations take life throughout the world. The play was performed to great acclaim in France, Italy, Germany and Spain, while the novel was translated into 16 languages.

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..."

Contents

[edit] Plot summary

The novel is set in 1792, during the bloodthirsty, early stages of the French Revolution. Marguerite St. Just, a beautiful French ex-actress, is the wife of wealthy English fop Sir Percy Blakeney, a baronet. Before their marriage, Marguerite had said things in private that had the unintended consequence of sending French aristocrat the Marquis de St. Cyr and his sons to the guillotine. When Percy found out, he became estranged from his wife.

Meanwhile, a secret society of 19 English aristocrats, the "League of the Scarlet Pimpernel", is engaged in rescuing their French counterparts from the daily executions. 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.

They seek him here, They seek him there,
Those Frenchies seek him everywhere.

Is he in heaven?
—Is he in hell?
That dammed, elusive Pimpernel.
Sir Percy Blakeney (ch.12)

At a ball attended by the Blakeneys, Percy's verse about the 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—the very man she has endangered. He had hidden behind the persona of a dull, slow-witted fop in order to deceive the world. He had not even told Marguerite because of his worry that she might betray him, as she had done others in the past. Desperate to save her spouse, she pursues Percy to France to try to warn him.

Chauvelin is close to capturing Percy on several occasions, but the Englishman manages to outwit him each time. Percy rescues Armand and the Comte de Tourney, the father of a school friend of Marguerite's. He is finally reunited with his frantic wife when they are both taken prisoner by Chauvelin, though luckily Percy is so well disguised as a despised Jew that the Frenchman does not recognize him. The couple later manage to escape.

With Marguerite's love and courage amply proved, Percy's ardour is rekindled. Safely back on board their schooner, the Day Dream, the happily reconciled couple returns to England.

[edit] Sequels

Baroness Orczy wrote numerous sequels that revolve around the other characters with whom Blakeney comes into contact, and the activities of his followers, Lord Tony Dewhurst, Sir Andrew Ffoulkes, Lord Hastings, and Marguerite's brother, Armand St. Just. However, these books have not been as famous as The Scarlet Pimpernel

These 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).

[edit] Scarlet Pimpernel books

[edit] Novels

[edit] Collections of short stories

[edit] Omnibus editions

[edit] 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'
  • The Secret History of the Pink Carnation (2005) (written by Lauren Willig) see 'Other versions' below.

[edit] Chronology

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 can 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

[edit] Members of the League

A. The original nine League or founder members who formed the party on August 2nd, 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
  • Sir Richard Galveston

B. 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
  • 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.

[edit] Adaptations

Hollywood took to the Pimpernel early and often, though most of the Pimpernel movies have been based on a melange of the original book and another Orczy novel, Eldorado.

  • 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 - USA
  • Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1955 mini-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)
  • The Scarlet Pimpernel (1987) (TV)
  • 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)

[edit] Parodies and games

The novel has been parodied as a Warner Bros. cartoon short featuring Daffy Duck (as "The Scarlet Pumpernickel"), in 1954. A 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 Canadian comedy team of Wayne and Shuster created a comedy sketch based on the Scarlet Pimpernel called "The Brown Pumpernickel".[1]

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. Publication was delayed for over a year because the manuscript was one of those seized during the Secret Service raid on Jackson Games that led to the Steve Jackson Games, Inc. v. United States Secret Service case.

[edit] Media references

In 1987, the BBC sitcom Blackadder the Third included an episode, "Nob and Nobility", in which the Scarlet Pimpernel is praised by everyone, apart from 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.

There has also been a recent string of novels by Harvard graduate student Lauren Willig, beginning with The Secret History of the Pink Carnation. These novels chronicle the adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel's associates, including the Purple Gentian (alias of Lord Richard Selwick).

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.

The TV series Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp had an episode entitled "The Scarlet Chimpernel", in which the title character, after slipping on a banana peel, 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. A setting with a guillotine becomes prominent when the director is decapitated.

In the 2006 Tenacious D movie "Pick Of Destiny" the devil has a "rock-off" with the lead characters in which he says, "I'll make him squeal like my Scarlet Pimpernel."

In the Danny Kaye musical film The Court Jester, the infant king is identified by the "purple pimpernel" on his backside.

Moon Over Buffalo, the stage play by Ken Ludwig, has the lead character, George, hoping to be cast by Frank Capra as the Scarlett Pimpernel.

The Scarlet Pimpernel is a member of the Wold Newton family a concept created by Philip Jose Farmer.

In the third book in the TimeWars series, The Pimpernel Plot, Sir Percy Blakeney 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.

[edit] Real-life tie-ins

[edit] 'The Tartan Pimpernel'

Inspired by the title Scarlet Pimpernel, the Tartan Pimpernel was a nickname given to the Reverend Donald Caskie (1902-1983), formerly minister of the Paris congregation of the Church of Scotland, for aiding over 2,000 Allied service personnel to escape from occupied France during World War II.

[edit] 'The American Pimpernel'

Varian Fry, was a 32-year-old Harvard-educated classicist and editor from New York City, who helped save thousands of endangered refugees who were caught in Vichy France escape from Nazi terror during World War II. His story is told in American Pimpernel - the Man Who Saved the Artists on Hitler's Death List

[edit] 'The Black Pimpernel'

Harald Edelstam (1913–1989) was a Swedish diplomat. During World War II, he earned the nickname Svarta nejlikan ("the Black Pimpernel") for helping Norwegian resistance fighters in Hjemmefronten escape from the Germans.[2] Stationed in Chile in the 1970s, he arranged for the escape of numerous refugees from the military junta of Augusto Pinochet; this brought him into conflict with the regime, and he was eventually forced to leave the country.

This name was also given to Nelson Mandela prior to his arrest and long incarceration for his anti-apartheid activities in South Africa due to his effective use of disguises when evading capture by the police.[3]

[edit] Raoul Wallenberg

Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat, was directly inspired by the film Pimpernel Smith to begin rescuing Hungarian Jews during World War II.[citation needed] Wallenberg issued false passports identifying the Jews as Swedish nationals, and is credited with rescuing at least 15,000 Jews. He disappeared in Eastern Europe after the war, and is believed to have died in a Soviet prison camp.

[edit] Historical accuracy

The Baroness's sympathies were plainly with the aristocracy and in truth, she was more interested in telling a good tale than in strict historical accuracy. To this end, Orczy frequently distorted real historical figures and events so they could be woven into the storylines of the books, placing the Scarlet Pimpernel and his league in the middle of the action.

In particular, the career of Chauvelin, the recurring villain of the series, is much altered; named Armand Chauvelin in the books, in fact, Bernard-François, marquis de Chauvelin, survived the Revolutionary period to become an official under Napoleon I of France and a noted liberal Deputy under the Bourbon Restoration.

Other real life historical figures who crop up in the series include:

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Archivist. collectionscanada.ca (Library and Archives Canada) (April 10, 2000). Retrieved on 2007-10-29.
  2. ^ Joan Baez (November 6, 1981). Human Rights in the 80s: Seeing Through Both Eyes. commonwealthclub.org.
  3. ^ Time Magazine article The Black Pimpernel, August 17, 1962

[edit] External links