9 h 35 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 9 h 35 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
In Paris, the guillotine waits. Across the Channel, a secret rescuer hides behind the sign of a red flower.
France, 1792. A band of English gentlemen smuggles condemned people out of the Terror, led by the mysterious Scarlet Pimpernel. The French government wants him caught; London society wants to guess his name. Baroness Orczy’s adventure moves from a guarded Paris gate to the warmth of the Fisherman’s Rest, where talk and mystery fill the room.
Marguerite Blakeney, once a brilliant Paris actress, now shares a silent, troubled marriage with Sir Percy, a rich English baronet who seems devoted to clothes and empty jokes. Then Citizen Chauvelin finds a way to use her love for her brother, Armand. As he hunts the Pimpernel, Marguerite faces a terrible choice, with her brother’s safety and her husband’s trust at stake.
What you’ll discover
- Daring behind a disguise Follow secret rescues where quick thinking and false appearances stand between the condemned and death.
- A marriage behind silence Feel the strain as Marguerite and Percy struggle with judgments neither has spoken aloud.
- A patient, dangerous enemy Meet Chauvelin, whose hunt for a hidden name turns family love into a weapon.
- Loyalty under pressure Discover a league of young gentlemen bound by an oath and the risks of rescue.
- Wit with a ticking clock Enjoy brisk chapters, chases, and disguises that keep the danger close and the pages turning.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy clever disguises, cat and mouse chases, history with a romantic heart, and heroes who hide their courage behind a smile.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A disguise defeats the guards
- The rescuers wear their courage lightly
- A foolish husband reveals hidden feeling
- Family love gives an enemy leverage
- Chauvelin turns love into a trap
- A secret note forces her choice
- Honesty begins to weaken their distance
- Appearances hide both courage and pain
- Courage hides beneath the public show
Who’s who
- Marguerite BlakeneyA former Paris actress now leading London society, she is clever and proud, and she longs to protect her brother Armand.
- Sir Percy BlakeneyA rich, foppish baronet who yawns at danger and laughs at duels, yet watches his wife with a hidden, hopeless longing.
- ChauvelinThe cunning French agent who wants to uncover the Scarlet Pimpernel and will use anyone's love to do it.
- Armand St. JustMarguerite's gentle brother, a moderate republican who works quietly against the Terror and who is the weak point in her defences.
- Sir Andrew FfoulkesA loyal young ally of the league, who loves little Suzanne and idolises his leader.
- Lord Antony DewhurstA cheerful, loud league supporter who calls the rescues sport and hides his earnestness behind jokes.
- The Comtesse de TournayA rigid aristocrat who escapes France with her children and wants her husband saved, but cannot forgive Marguerite.
- Suzanne de TournayThe Comtesse's gentle daughter, Marguerite's old schoolmate, who falls in love with Sir Andrew and trusts everyone.
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The Scarlet Pimpernel
by Baroness Orczy · 1905
In Paris and London, a red flower signs notes that steal aristocrats from the guillotine, and a spy hunts its maker.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
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“Is he in heaven? Is he in hell?”
In short
September 1792, and the guillotine in Paris has been busy all day. At the West Barricade a sergeant named Bibot sits on a cask and enjoys catching nobles in clumsy disguises.
The Scarlet Pimpernel at a glance
- Reading time
- About 5 h 35 min4 h 25 min fast, 6 h 40 min slow
- Length
- 79,800 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1905by Baroness Orczy
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A mob at the barricade fears one hero
The book opens at the West Barricade in Paris, at sunset in September 1792. A crowd gathers every evening to watch the guards stop nobles who try to slip out of the city. Orczy paints a mob that has learned to treat death as a show.
Sergeant Bibot is the star of this show. Yet he now has special orders, because so many nobles are reaching England. The rumour is that a band of Englishmen leads these escapes, and their chief leaves a note marked with a red flower that English people call the Scarlet Pimpernel.
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Details
- First published
- 1905
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 6 h 10 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Orczy, Emmuska. The Scarlet Pimpernel. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-scarlet-pimpernel.
Orczy, E. (2026). The Scarlet Pimpernel. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-scarlet-pimpernel (Original work published 1905)
Orczy, Emmuska. The Scarlet Pimpernel. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-scarlet-pimpernel.
@book{orczy2026scarlet,
author = {Orczy, Emmuska},
title = {The Scarlet Pimpernel},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-scarlet-pimpernel},
note = {First published 1905}
}
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What is The Scarlet Pimpernel about?
It follows a secret English league that rescues French nobles from the guillotine during the Terror in 1792. Its leader hides behind a red flower, while a French agent hunts him and the wife of a London dandy is drawn into the chase.
Who is the Scarlet Pimpernel?
He is the unknown leader of a league of twenty Englishmen who save aristocrats from the guillotine. The name comes from a small red wildflower, and he signs his notes with a drawing of it. His identity is the central mystery of the story.
Is The Scarlet Pimpernel a true story?
No, it is a work of fiction by Baroness Orczy, published in the early twentieth century. The setting is real, since it takes place during the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror in 1792, but the league and its hero are invented.
The author
Baroness Orczy
1865–1947 · Hungarian-born British novelist
Baroness Orczy (1865–1947) was a Hungarian-born British novelist and playwright. Born Emma Orczy in Tarnaörs, Hungary, she moved to London in 1880. She wrote The Scarlet Pimpernel, published in 1905, and detective stories, including The Old Man in the Corner and Lady Molly of Scotland Yard. She died in London.
“Is he in heaven? Is he in hell?”
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