The Scarlet Pimpernel
Baroness Emmuska Orczy (1865-1947)
Paris, 1792: aristocrats are guillotined daily, yet a handful escape every time, spirited away by a masked Englishman who leaves behind a scribbled little red flower as his signature. Marguerite Blakeney, the cleverest woman in Europe, despises her foppish English husband Sir Percy - never suspecting that the dandy who cannot string two sentences together is the Pimpernel himself - until Chauvelin, the French agent, blackmails her into betraying him. Orczy's novel, rejected by a dozen publishers, became one of the great bestsellers of the century and the ancestor of every secret-identity hero.
Text sourced from Project Gutenberg (public domain in the United States); the Project Gutenberg trademark and license text have been removed on import. Public-domain status determined by the author's death year + 50 years rule.
Table of Contents
- 001 The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy Contents I. 2525 words
- 002 “Curse you!” he muttered, whilst the whole crowd hastily avoided the… 2514 words
- 003 But this was too much for Mr. 2508 words
- 004 There was a general movement among the company in the coffee-room. 2584 words
- 005 It had all occurred in such a miraculous way; she and her husband had… 2535 words
- 006 “Ah! Lady Blakeney!” added Lord Tony, “how they must miss you at the… 2527 words
- 007 But already Blakeney, good-humoured as ever, had joined in the laugh against himself. 2553 words
- 008 Yet even now, his own sister puzzled him. 2520 words
- 009 “But what?” “There _is_ Sir Percy.” “What has he to do with it?”… 2503 words
- 010 He drained his glass to the last drop, then joined his friend beside the hearth. 2571 words
- 011 But what Lord Grenville thought of this matter, or to what… 2655 words
- 012 “It does seem simple, doesn’t it?” she said, with a final bitter… 2513 words
- 013 “Ah, Monseigneur!” replied the Vicomte, “I was a leetle boy then . 2518 words
- 014 She sighed with satisfaction, holding the paper tightly between her… 2515 words
- 015 “You have news for me?” he said. 2513 words
- 016 But indeed her thoughts were not very far away: only one storey… 2519 words
- 017 “Nay, Madame,” he rejoined placidly, “but ’tis on the other foot the… 2507 words
- 018 “And so,” he said with bitter sarcasm, “the murderous dog of the… 2502 words
- 019 “I have prayed your ladyship to offer my humble excuses to His Royal Highness. 2530 words
- 020 She stooped to pick it up. 2549 words
- 021 How could she imagine that a man who could love with so much… 2559 words
- 022 “Faith, Madame, you must command me. 2612 words
- 023 “Then Chauvelin is still in Dover?” “Undoubtedly. 2522 words
- 024 “Hey, my friend!” said Sir Andrew at last, “we should like some supper. 2502 words
- 025 Indeed, she had forgotten! 2501 words
- 026 “Does he know where this ‘Père Blanchard’s hut’ is?” “No, citoyen… 2517 words
- 027 “But, la! I should have known you anywhere,” continued Sir Percy… 2543 words
- 028 Chauvelin, who had all the Frenchman’s prejudice against the despised… 2508 words
- 029 The loneliness was absolute. 2575 words
- 030 “Now,” he was saying in a low and peremptory whisper, “where is the… 2512 words
- 031 Chauvelin must have given some directions, which she was too dazed to… 2510 words
- 032 “One of you go into the hut and strike a light,” he stammered at last. 2542 words
- 033 Chauvelin had not given up all hope. 2509 words
- 034 Indeed it had proved to be infinitely better, and Marguerite’s heart… 2145 words