Baroness Orczy
Baroness Emma Orczy (full name: Emma Magdalena Rozália Mária Jozefa Borbála Orczy de Orci) (/ˈɔːrtsiː/; 23 September 1865 – 12 November 1947), usually known as Baroness Orczy (the name under which she was published) or to her family and friends as Emmuska Orczy, was a Hungarian-born British novelist and playwright. She is best known for her series of novels featuring the Scarlet Pimpernel, the alter ego of Sir Percy Blakeney, a wealthy English fop who turns into a quick-thinking escape artist in order to save French aristocrats from "Madame Guillotine" during the French Revolution, establishing the "hero with a secret identity" in popular culture.
Baroness (Emma) Orczy | |
|---|---|
Portrait of Baroness Emma Orczy by Bassano | |
| Born | Emma Magdalena Rozália Mária Jozefa Borbála Orczy de Orci 23 September 1865 Tarnaörs, Heves County, Hungary, Austrian Empire |
| Died | 12 November 1947 (aged 82) Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, UK |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Nationality | Hungarian, British |
| Genre | Historical fiction, mystery fiction and adventure romances |
| Notable works | The Scarlet Pimpernel The Emperor's Candlesticks |
| Spouse |
Henry George Montagu MacLean Barstow
(m. 1894; died 1942) |
| Children | 1 |
Opening in London's West End on 5 January 1905, The Scarlet Pimpernel became a favourite of British audiences. Some of Orczy's paintings were exhibited at the Royal Academy in London. She established the Women of England's Active Service League during World War I with the intention of empowering women to convince men to enlist in the military.