The Scarlet Pimpernel - Orczy, Baroness Emmuska

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Résumé :
The Scarlet Pimpernel is set in 1792 during the French Revolution, but centres on an English hero performing great and brave deeds in a violent and murderous climate. Marguerite St Just is a beautiful French actress, who is married to the English fop, Sir Percy Blakeney. The couple have become estranged as Marguerite has tired of her husband's seemingly superficial lifestyle. She has heard about the exploits of the mysterious Scarlet Pimpernel - an unknown English man - who is daily helping French aristocrats to escape the Revolution. She is captivated and entranced by the stories surrounding him, but is soon forced into a position where she must assist the French ambassador to England in capturing the elusive man. Orczy's novel unfolds with a series of twists and turns, with frequent moments of excitement and tension.

Biographie:
Baroness Emmuska Orczy was born in Tarnaors, Hungary in 1865. She was a notable artist, playwright and author. Her father Baron Felix Orczy was a composer and mother Countess Emma Orczy. Due to a peasant revolt her family fled to Brussels then Paris and lastly to London. With her sister Emma studied in convent schools in Brussels and Paris. She learned music and paintings but gained success in paintings at the West London School of Art and at Heartherley. In collaboration with her husband Montague Barstow, Baroness Hungarian fairy tales and began writing romance and fiction. She was appreciated for the translation of Old Hungarian Fairy Tales. Her first novel, The Emperor's Candlesticks faced rejection for being too short. But her second novel 'The Scarlet Pimpernel' proved a boon for him, she earned name and fame. As a prominent author she wrote dozens of romantic novels, plays and detective stories. Her memorable works-The Man in Grey, The Laughing Cavalier, Skin O' My Tooth, Eldorado- a sequel to the Scarlet Pimpernel, The Old Man in the Corner, The Divine Folly, The Old Scare Crow, Lady Molly of Scotland Yard etc. She was died in London in 1947.