The Scarlet Pimpernel was first published in 1905 and has proved to be Orczy's most famous and popular novel. The work was originally rejected by publishers, so she refashioned it as a play, with little initial success. 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.

The Scarlet Pimpernel appears in a play and a series of novels and short stories by Baroness Emmuska Orczy. They are set at the start of the French Revolution, Pimpernel being a master of disguise and a precursor to other heroes such as Zorro and Batman. The play and the tales brought Orczy international acclaim, being translated into sixteen languages. This omnibus edition includes the following unabridged novels: The Elusive Pimpernel, A child of the Revolution, Mam'zelle Guillotine and the following collections of short stories: The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel and The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel.

Citizen Chauvelin, of the Committee of Public Safety, presents citizen Fouquier-Tinville, the Public Prosecutor, with the most extraordinary claim:

"The dangerous English spy known to the world as the Scarlet Pimpernel," he says, "is now safely under lock and key. He must be transferred to the Abbaye prison forthwith -- and to the guillotine as quickly as might be. No one is to take any risks this time. There must be no question either of discrediting his famous League, or of obtaining other more valuable information out of him. Such methods have proved disastrous!"

There are no safe Englishmen these days, except the dead ones -- and it will not take citizen Fouquier-Tinville much thought or time to frame an indictment against the notorious Scarlet Pimpernel . . . and "that" will do away with the necessity of a prolonged trial. The revolutionary government is at war with England now, and short work can be made of all poisonous spies!

English novelist and playwright Baroness Emmuska Orczy (1865-1947) achieved enduring success with her novels of politics and intrigue set during the time of the French Revolution.

A trail-blazing writer of great repute in her day, but now unjustly neglected, Baroness Emmuska Orczy’s name was synonymous with the mystery genre in the early twentieth century, particularly for her Scarlet Pimpernel books, set during the French Revolution. But perhaps the most revolutionary of her works is the lesser-known Lady Molly of Scotland Yard, a short-story collection revolving around Molly Robertson-Kirk, a fictional London detective – indeed, published in 1910, Molly was one of the first fictional female detectives, and served as a prototype for many that followed. Beautifully presented and with helpful explanatory notes, this edition celebrates Orczy’s heroine and aims to reintroduce her for a new generation of readers.