Baroness Orczy The Complete Escapades of the Scarlet Pimpernel: Volume 5-The

Volume Five Sir Percys observations, a shorter adventure and 11 short storiesSir Percy Blakeney is not to be taken too seriously. In late 18th century England he is little more than a man given to trivial pleasures, an aristocratic and wealthy fop, unconcerned with politics or events on the other side of the English Channel where the France of the Bourbons has been violently swept away by the zealots of revolution. What is it to Sir Percy that the Reign of Terror has cast its shadow over all of France, or that the heads of innocents fall daily into the baskets of the guillotines of the Convention? Nothing? Well no, for Sir Percy is leading a double life with a dangerous secret identity. He is in reality the opposite of his apparently true self. He is The Scarlet Pimpernel, an expert swordsman, a master of disguise, a daredevil, quickthinking escape artist and, together with his band of likeminded adventurers, a man on a mission to rescue those unjustly condemned to die. So successful is he in this endeavour that soon The Scarlet Pimpernel is famous as an heroic defender of the weak and oppressed, and notorious as an opponent of the officers and agents of the revolution (including the dastardly Citizen Chauvelin) who are determined, at all costs, to bring him to account on the national razor. They seek him here, there and everywhere but catching The Scarlet Pimpernel is quite another matter! In creating this fictional hero, Baroness Orczy (18651947) has given her... | Baroness Orczy The Complete Escapades of the Scarlet Pimpernel: Volume 5-The