Orczy was well known publicly for her support of the aristocracy and her belief in the superiority of nobility, and these opinions are well established in The Scarlet Pimpernel.
The Scarlet Pimpernel was not released as a novel until 1905 however, it was an instant success, and Orczy went on to publish several sequels. In 1901, Orczy published her second novel, In Mary’s Reign, and in 1903, The Scarlet Pimpernel was born as a play written by both Orczy and her husband. Orczy’s first attempt at writing was a failure, but she continued and published several popular detective stories in the Royal Magazine. In 1899, Orczy gave birth to the couple’s only child, a son named John, and published her first novel, The Emperor’s Candlesticks. While at school, Orczy met her future husband, Montague MacLean Barstow, and they married in 1894. She was educated at both the West London School of Art and Heatherley’s School of Fine Art, where she focused on painting. Orczy lived a comfortable life in London and was accepted by British society. Orczy and her family were forced to flee and ran first to Budapest, then to Brussels and Paris, before finally settling in London in 1880. Her parents owned a large estate in Hungary, but when Baron Orczy tried to modernize and bought mechanical equipment, the peasants revolted and burned the estate to the ground. Orczy’s immediate and extended family were notable members of Romanian and Italian nobility, and her maternal grandfather was a member of the Hungarian parliament. His daring antics (and undeniable flair) are just as delightful today as they were a century ago.Baroness Emma Orczy was born the only child of Baron Félix Orczy de Orci and Countess Emma Wass de Szentegyed et Cege. The very first hero with a secret identity, the Scarlet Pimpernel is a worthy precursor to Zorro and Batman. But, with enemy agents on close his tail, his failure to trust her might be his undoing. A master of disguise, infamous escape artist and flamboyant swordsman, his identity is such a closely guarded secret that even his wife is in the dark. In the shadows, English dandy Sir Peter Blakeney – working under his alter ego, the Scarlet Pimpernel – is breaking the condemned out of prison and leaving his distinctive calling card, a picture of a red flower, to torment the French authorities. The French Revolution is in full swing and the aristocracy are being sent to the guillotine in their hundreds. Macmillan Collector’s Library are books to love and treasure.
Designed to appeal to the book lover, the Macmillan Collector’s Library is a series of beautiful gift editions of much loved classic titles.
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