Audiobook · read by volunteers
Scarlet Pimpernel
Baroness Emma Orczy (1865–1947)
Read by Karen Savage · 31 chapters · 7 h 49
About the book
Paris in 1792 is in the violent grip of the Revolution, and the guillotine is busy. Yet a mysterious figure keeps rescuing aristocrats from its blade, leaving behind only a small red flower as his signature. In England, the foppish Sir Percy Blakeney seems to care for nothing but fashion, while his clever French wife, Marguerite, is drawn into a game of secrets and suspicion. Baroness Orczy's classic of adventure mixes disguise, daring and romance in an irresistible way. Thirty-one parts and nearly eight hours, read by a LibriVox volunteer, bring the story of the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel back to life. Fast, witty and romantic, it has delighted readers for more than a century, and this reading carries you from the streets of Paris to the English coast with plenty of suspense along the way. A true classic of the adventure novel.
Introduction
Baroness Emma Orczy (1865 to 1947) was born in Hungary and moved to England as a girl, where she wrote in English and became one of the most popular novelists of her day. The Scarlet Pimpernel, published in 1905, was her greatest success, and its hero has been the model for many later masked avengers who hide a double life behind an elegant mask.
The story is set in the early days of the French Revolution, when thousands were sent to the guillotine. Against this background Orczy places a band of English gentlemen who save the condemned and escape under the noses of the authorities. The identity of their leader is the central mystery, and it is kept for a long time. Orczy knew how to combine the fascination of a historical setting with the pleasures of a thriller and a love story.
The book became the first of a series, which includes I Will Repay, The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel and The Elusive Pimpernel, among others. This recording covers the first novel in thirty-one parts, and runs for about seven and a half hours. It is read by a LibriVox volunteer. It is an ideal choice for anyone who enjoys swashbuckling tales, quick pacing and a hero who knows how to make an entrance. Orczy's plot depends on disguises and on the gap between what characters seem and what they are, and she handles it with real skill. Anyone who enjoys period adventure, or who wishes to know the origin of the secret hero with a double life, will find a lively and entertaining introduction.
Public domain
Baroness Emma Orczy died in 1947: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text