The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel

The Scarlet Pimpernel’s archenemy Chauvelin devises his most cunning trap yet: kidnapping Lady Doris, the young wife of one of the Pimpernel’s closest associates, to lure Sir Percy Blakeney into the heart of revolutionary Paris. As the Reign of Terror reaches its bloodiest peak, the Pimpernel must outwit Chauvelin and the Committee of Public Safety to rescue the captive and spirit yet more condemned aristocrats across the Channel to safety.

Published in 1922, The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel is one of Baroness Orczy’s later sequels to her enormously popular 1905 original. Set during the most dangerous days of the French Revolution, the novel delivers the same formula that made the series famous — disguises, daring escapes, and the satisfying revelation that the seemingly foolish English fop is in fact the most resourceful hero in Europe.

The Scarlet Pimpernel stories created the archetype of the dual-identity hero that would later inspire characters from Zorro to Batman. Orczy’s tales of aristocratic rescue amid revolutionary chaos remain brisk, entertaining adventure fiction, and this installment raises the stakes by placing the Pimpernel’s inner circle directly in Chauvelin’s crosshairs.