The Scarlet Pimpernel

:"We seek him here, we seek him there, / Those Frenchies seek him everywhere. / Is he in heaven?--Is he in hell? / That demmed, elusive Pimpernel."

Plot

Marguerite Blakeney, a French woman, is married to the foolish, foppish and wealthy Sir Percy Blakeney. The couple have become estranged as a result of Marguerite's earlier unintentional denunciation of a French aristocratic family. Like many other people, Marguerite is deeply interested in stories of the Scarlet Pimpernel — an anonymous hero who, through a combination of courage and wit, has rescued many French aristocrats from the guillotine, and brought them safely to England.

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Marguerite's beloved brother, Armand, is discovered to have links with the Scarlet Pimpernel's organization, and he is therefore in danger of being executed. Marguerite is blackmailed by the wily French ambassador to England, Citizen Chauvelin, into helping him to discover the identity of the Pimpernel. If she helps him, Armand's life will be spared. Marguerite very reluctantly agrees to help Chauvelin. She cannot face the thought of losing her brother, and she hopes that the Pimpernel will manage to save himself. She discovers some information, meaningless to her, and passes it on to Chauvelin. She is afraid to confide in her husband, being aware of how much he blames her for her earlier mistake, which led to the execution of an entire family.

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When Sir Percy leaves for France, Marguerite realizes, to her horror, that he is the Pimpernel — the man she has betrayed. She follows him to France to try to warn him. Sir Percy outwits Chauvelin, and manages to rescue Armand, as well as the father of Marguerite's schoolfriend. Touched by his wife's remorse, and by her devotion and courage, he forgives her for her betrayal, and they return to England, with all misunderstandings resolved.

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The subsequent books in the series deal with other characters with whom Blakeney comes into contact, and with the activities of his followers, Lord Tony Dewhurst, Sir Andrew Ffoulkes, Lord Hastings, and Marguerite's brother, Armand St. Just.

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