by Baroness Emmuska Orczy

Born in Hungary in 1865, Baroness Emmuska Orczy moved to England with her family when she was fifteen. She lived there the rest of her life. In 1905 she published her best-known work, The Scarlet Pimpernel. The novel takes place in 1792 during the French Revolution and has a number of important parallels to European life a century later.

Events in History at the Time the Novel Takes Place

The French Revolution. Peasants in eighteenthcentury France endured severe economic and political hardships. Most lived on small farms rented from aristocratic landlords. They worked hard but remained extremely poor, for it was difficult to support a family on the meager income they earned. A peasant spent a large percentage of his annual income paying heavy taxes to the royal government, as well as rent to his noble landlord. The peasant class also owed part...